2024 Speaking Tour

Host Fr. John Dear on his 2024 Speaking Tour for his Forthcoming Orbis Book: “’The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence.” For more info, click here

Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

June 16th, 2025

#24, Frida Berrigan on Remembering Hiroshima 80 Years Ago and Resisting Nuclear Weapons

“Nuclear weapons are not on people’s hearts. We are reminding people that nuclear weapons are still here and threatening the planet. They’re not going to disarm themselves. We need to do that!”
 
This week, John Dear talks with Frida Berrigan, peace activist, author and mother. She is the daughter of legendary activists Philip Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister, and niece of Daniel Berrigan. She grew up at Jonah House, a community in Baltimore of permanent nonviolent resistance to war and nuclear weapons. They protested full-time for decades. Her housemates were regularly arrested and jailed, including her parents.
 
In 2015, Frida published her book, It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing into Rebellious Motherhood, about growing up in the Berrigan family. She has worked for years at the World Policy Institute studying U.S. military policy and nuclear weapons. She also cofounded Witness against Torture, a campaign calling for the closure of Guantanamo Bay detention center and the end of U.S. backed use of torture and continues to write, organize and speak out for justice and disarmament.
 
“The times call for us to be in the streets for every issue under the sun–including nuclear abolition,” she says. “This 80th anniversary of Hiroshima on August 6th is particularly important because we need to be speaking in the voice of the Hibakusha, the atomic bomb survivors, who are dying out. We need to say with them, ‘Never Again.’
 
“My parents never sugar coated anything for us,” she says. “They let it be known to us that any change we wanted to see in the world, we had to make ourselves. And if we didn’t see the change, it was still worth doing what we could. We always knew that it was our responsibility to bear witness and resist as much as possible. Check out Frida Berrigan’s stories and call to resistance, and be inspired to go forward working for disarmament, justice, and peace!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Michael Nagler! For more information, visit here.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

June 9, 2025

#23, Matthew Fox on Resisting Evil & A Spirituality of Falling in Love with Life

 
This week, John Dear talks Matthew Fox, world reknown theologian, Episcopal priest, long-time activist for justice and creation, and author of many best-selling books including Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, A Spirituality Named Compassion, and The Hidden Spirituality of Men.

“We’re living through a dark night of our species, our society, and our souls,” he says. “We’re in the middle of a coup. American democracy is being hijacked in the name of authoritarianism by the billionaires. This movement that is culminating in Trump began over 40 years ago; it’s gathered racism, revenge and resentment. Project 2025 has 18 points that are obviously anti-Christ, but we don’t talk about evil; we talk about sin. These are spiritual forces–racism, sexism, unbridled greed (capitalism). They are names for evil spirits.

“There’s a difference between sin and evil,” he teaches. “We have to be strong to resist fear and evil spirits. The opposite of evil is not good; it is ‘the Sacred.’ It operates in the level of spirit.

“Abraham Heschel said the primary work of the prophet is ‘to interfere,’” Matthew Fox says. “We need to interfere! We also need a spirituality of falling in love with life. We have to love life, and how beautiful the world is. That’s what we have to drink in and fill up on. We should be able to unite around gratitude for our existence. We’ve got to fill up on joy and celebration as well as resisting and saying no to evil.

When I asked about nonviolence, he said, Nonviolence begins with ourselves. We’re all carrying the seeds of violence and nonviolence. We need to nurture the seeds of nonviolence in us and contribute to nurturing the seeds of nonviolence in others. Listen in for wisdom and encouragement to deepen both your spirituality and your resistance!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Frida Berrigan! For more information, visit here.

John Dear’s new book now available!

“The Gospel of Peace:
Reading Matthew, Mark & Luke
from the Perspective of Nonviolence”

For info, click here
 
To order, call Orbis Books at 1-800-258-5838
 

To invite John Dear to speak in your city, write to: john@beatitudescenter.org 

National Catholic Reporter Review of “The Gospel of Peace,” click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s interview with Dean Young of Grace Cathedral about the book, click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s sermon at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, on Jan. 21, 2024, (at the 30 minute mark) click here
 
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast, a free weekly podcast with John Dear
click here

Recent Books

“The Sacrament of Civil Disobedience”
Revised 2022 Edition, with new foreword by Shane Claiborne,
Available on amazon, in the U.K.  To order, visit: https://labora.press/product/the-sacrament-of-civil-disobedience/

Recent Articles

A few years ago, three French peace activists met with Pope Francis and asked him for advice. “Start a revolution,” he said. “Shake things up! The world is deaf. You have to open its ears.” That’s what Pope Francis did — he started a nonviolent revolution and invited us all to join. 

I’m grateful for him for so many reasons, but mainly because he spoke out so boldly, so prophetically in word and deed for justice, the poor, disarmament, peace, creation, mercy and nonviolence. It is a tremendous gift that we had him for 12 years, that he did not resign or retire, but kept at it until the last day, Easter Sunday.

Daniel Ellsberg, Prophet of Truth and Disarmament

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 reflecting on his life’s work for peace, he announced that he was full of “joy and gratitude” and wished the same for all of us who work to end war.

My Long Lost Conversation with John Lewis

Last summer, after Congressman John Lewis died, I posted a photo on social media of me and John from a memorable afternoon we spent together in his congressional office. It was 26 years ago. We had talked for a while, and then filmed a formal conversation on nonviolence.

Needless to say, it was one of the greatest days of my exciting life.

Recent News

“Nonviolence,” a new 147 page special edition
of Richard Rohr’s journal Oneing, now available from www.cac.org

John Dear on “Democracy Now” talking about Thich Nhat Hanh and Archbishop Tutu 

“Jesus was totally nonviolent and calls us to practice and teach Gospel nonviolence and welcome God’s reign of peace and nonviolence, which means from now on, we work for the abolition of war, poverty, racism, gun violence, the death penalty, nuclear weapons, environmental destruction, and all violence.” – Fr. John Dear

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