Building Peace wherever we are: From Assisi to the World – Episode 38

Join Brother Paolo Nicosia as he masterfully tells stories of healing and reconciliation woven together with offering practical principles and skills to strengthen our own abilities to be peacebuilders and reconcilers today.

From Brother Paolo’s interview:

A summary of Principles and Skills of Mediation and Peace Building:

--A pluralistic vision of the community, seeking unity among diversity.

--An inclusive and compassionate attitude, because the tendency often, especially nowadays is being exclusive, I'm part of this group against another group; either you are in or you're out.

--A pacific and non-violent approach. … This is the way to transform conflicts. 

--At the broader level, a commitment for social justice, being charitable to others, but also on a level that can be justice for all, not just for some that want a privileged life.

--Also healing wounds and memories, because every time we have some misunderstanding or some real conflicts, there are wounds; the bad memories can be healed, talking, sharing and understanding each other, like in the restorative justice process, very famous in South Africa.

--From a spiritual point of view, … God is God, we are not. This gives a sort of relaxation, like the way of saying in Italian that I try to translate, God exists, you are not God, so relax.

--Finally, in the Atonement charism of reconciliation with God, other human beings and the self is expressed especially in two ways, two ministries. One is social and the other is ecumenical. So, ecumenically, through a dialogue seeking unity among diversity; the other, social ministry, especially for addictions.

“Being always oriented to problem solving, and if it is not possible to solve problems, accepting reality, like Francis with the Sultan. … Not to be fearful of leaving with extreme differences.  Again, Francis was doing this all the time with all kinds of different people, and we can do nowadays, basing our relationship on trust, healing the past, if the case happened that this trust was threatened or misunderstood in some ways. We use non-violent communication, listening a lot and talking in a very clear and understandable way to others. These are very simple, but very useful way of living the Franciscan spirituality in our daily lives.”

“This approach can be applied for every kind of conflict, either grassroots or international conflicts. The wisdom of Franciscan agents of reconciliation, it could be Christian, or it could be everybody, is that everybody can be one; in every life is a facilitator for the transformation and integration of inner and outer conflicts to reconcile with the self, the others and God. … If we follow Jesus Christ or a peace approach, first of all, be inclusive. … The vision of accomplishment of peace can be a source of hope, and a realization of this being meant to be one. That is a bit of our name: At-one-ment, but it's also the gospel of John.”

For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: [email protected].

References:

Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, Assisi, Graymoor: https://www.atonementfriars.org/our-mission-history/  … We believe in…transforming conflict by being instruments of justice and peace, honoring and embracing the dignity of all people, living “minimum for self, maximum for God,” being stewards of God’s Creation and, ministering to those in need of physical and spiritual healing. We partner with those who share our values.

We exist as a Catholic religious community to invite the world to join us in the quest for healing and reconciliation. We do this by living, embracing and fostering the Franciscan spirit of At-One-Ment which includes: the unity of all; and the healing of the broken and those who have lost their way. We joy in God.

Two of the friars’ key ministries:

St. Christopher’s Inn: See https://www.atonementfriars.org/healing-ministries/#stchristophersinn and

Ecumenical Ministries and Interfaith Dialogue: https://www.atonementfriars.org/ecumenical-interfaith-dialogue/

Stories

Francis and the Sultan al-Kamil, 1219 Crusades:  A contemporary telling of the story: https://cac.org/francis-and-the-sultan-2019-10-10/ . An original source: The Life of Saint Francis XX:57, by Thomas of Celano at: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/the-life-of-saint-francis-by-thomas-of-celano/672-fa-ed-1-page-231#ges:searchword%3Dsultan%26searchphrase%3Dall%26page%3D1 

Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio: A contemporary reflection on this story: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/st-francis-and-the-taming-of-the-wolf . An original source: The Life of Saint Francis XX:57, by Thomas of Celano at: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-saint/the-life-of-saint-francis-by-thomas-of-celano/672-fa-ed-1-page-231#ges:searchword%3Dsultan%26searchphrase%3Dall%26page%3D1

What are ‘The Troubles’, referenced in the Irish Cultural Center story? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

What is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Negotiation and Mediation? https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/alternative_dispute_resolution . See also the Harvard Negotiation Project: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/about/our-mission/

Tools/Resources in English by Brother Paolo:

Faith-based Peacebuilding: Insights from the Three Main Monotheisms – you can download it here: https://www.athensjournals.gr/social/2017-4-1-1-Nicosia.pdf and

Ecumenical Tools for Christian Based Reconciliation – if you would like a copy of this article, please email your request to [email protected] including the episode number and the name of this article.

Artisans of Peace, Pope Francis: see https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/pope-become-artisans-peace-your-daily-lives