Blogs and Articles

National Catholic Reporter Review of ‘The Gospel of Peace’ by Art Laffin, Jan. 2024

Born from a four-decades long commitment to prayer, Eucharist, careful study of Scripture, Jesus, Gandhi and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Gospel-based action and writing and speaking about Gospel nonviolence, The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence is the culmination of the lifework of...

Daniel Ellsberg, Prophet of Truth and Disarmament

Daniel Ellsberg, Prophet of Truth and Disarmament By Rev. John Dear A few months before he died on Friday, June 16th, famed whistle blower and peace activist Daniel Ellsberg sent an email letter to hundreds of friends announcing that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given three months or so to live. After...

War Is the Ultimate Failure!

“War Is the Ultimate Failure!” By Rev. John Dear (Published on www.commondreams.org on March 20,2023) On Saturday, March 18, 2023—the 20th anniversary of the U.S. war on Iraq—22 demonstrations against U.S. warmaking were held across the nation, including Washington, D.C., New York City, and San Francisco. In Los Angeles, hundreds gathered to protest outside the CNN...

Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki—“Mother of the Spirituality of Nonviolence”

Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki—“Mother of the Spirituality of Nonviolence” By Fr. John Dear (Jan. 2023) The Benedictine Sisters of Erie gave Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki a beautiful send off this week after her death on January 6, 2023 from a long battle with cancer. Three hundred people attended her wake and story telling session on...

Nonviolence Is Power: A Conversation with Rev. James Lawson

(I first met my friend Civil Rights leader Rev. James Lawson in the L.A. Jail in January, 1990 after protesting US military aid to El Salvador. In 1998, he hired me to be the director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Over the years we have spoken at many events together, including on “Democracy Now.” This...