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

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

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April 21, 2025

#16, Martha Hennessy on her Grandmother Dorothy Day, the End of the American Empire, and Creating a New Society Out of the Shell of the Old

 

“We are experiencing the thrashing of empire and the death throes of capitalism,” Martha Hennessy says in this episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast.” Martha is the granddaughter of Dorothy Day, the legendary activist, author, anarchist, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement. A longtime peace activist, Martha lives on her family farm in Vermont and volunteers part time at Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City, which was Dorothy’s home. She speaks regularly on the issues of war, poverty, the works of mercy, and nuclear weapons, and has traveled to Russia, Iraq, Iran, Palestine/Israel, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Korea to witness for peace.
 
Like her grandmother, Martha says that “good solutions never come from the state… We need to find one’s niche…to create a new world from the shell of the old world, to create a society where it’s easy to be good.”
 
John Dear asks Martha about Dorothy’s brilliant—and shocking–statement right after the attack on Pearl Harbor which she ran as the headline of the Catholic Worker: “Our Manifesto Is the Sermon on the Mount.” Even if everyone else runs off to war, we will obey the teachings of Jesus and not support war, Dorothy insisted. We discuss Dorothy’s amazing witness over the course of her long life, how she said “No” to every single war.
 
“The U.S. church desperately needs Dorothy as a saint, a saint who was a laywoman, a mother, and a grandmother. Pope Francis recognizes her as a saint. She was a mystic, she was touched by God. And she was an extraordinary grandmother.”
 
Martha also talks about her recent arrest on Ash Wednesday outside the U.S. Mission to the United Nations calling upon the U.S. to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; her work at Maryhouse; her imprisonment for the King’s Bay Plowshares disarmament action; and her grandmother’s impending canonization. Join us and be inspired to carry on like Dorothy Day!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes John Dear on the life of Pope Francis! For more information, visit here.

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

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April 28, 2025

#17, John Dear on “Francis—the Most Radical Pope in History”

This week, Fr. John reflects on the life and death of Pope Francis–“the most radical, most progressive, most nonviolent, most prophetic, most peace-activist-oriented pope in history, and therefore, the greatest pope in history, hands down.”
 
“I give thanks because Francis spoke out so boldly, so prophetically in word and deed for justice, the poor, disarmament, peace, creation, mercy, nonviolence, and the nonviolent Jesus; that we had him for 12 years; that he did not resign and retire, but kept at it till Easter Sunday, and that we got to live during his time,” John says. “I think he’s one of our greatest saints, and I hope he will be named a Doctor of the Church.”
He shares his own outreach to Francis and the Vatican on nonviolence; reflects on his great themes; and in particular, reviews his extraordinary peacemaking efforts and how he started to turn the church back to its roots in Gospel nonviolence.
 
“Let us pray for a more widespread culture of nonviolence,” Francis said, “that will progress when countries and citizens alike resort less and less to the use of arms.” Fr. John calls us to honor Pope Francis by rising to the occasion, speaking out, and resisting war, injustice, poverty, racism, corporate greed, fascism, genocide in Gaza, nuclear weapons and environmental destruction, that we might be Gospel peacemakers like Francis. Listen and be inspired!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Kazu Haga! 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

The Peacemaking Life of Pope Francis

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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 

Visit
www.DanielBerrigan.org

“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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