Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, will speak to the Marywood community in a presentation titled “Healing Our Wounded World: Necessity of Respect.” The speech will center around the theme of how nonviolence can be used to help solve world issues.

As co-president of Pax Christi International, a global Catholic peace movement, Dennis has worked on the organization’s mission to advocate for peace internationally. This role has also led her to work with the United Nations and Pope Francis to further advocate for global peace.

Sr. John Michele Southwick, IHM, assistant director of Campus Ministry, is organizing the event.

“Marie Dennis will be in the area to speak with the diocese of Scranton that weekend and we were just lucky enough to have her stay over into Monday to speak on campus,” she said.

To help excite students for the speech, the Marywood community will be participating in the Global Peace Minute of Silence/Moment of Peace at noon on Thursday, Sept. 21 in the Memorial Commons. This is a worldwide event sponsored by the United Nations to help commemorate International Day of Peace.

Also that day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Campus Ministry, Better Together, Marywood’s Global Unity Club and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Melinda Krokus’ international peace class will have a table in the Learning Commons lobby where people can write notes of support for students on campus who will be affected by the Trump administration’s decision to phase out Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The notes will be distributed to students through the Office of Diversity Efforts.

Salma Ahmed, a Maxis-Gillet Service Scholar and a Better Together interfaith youth core ministry student leader, was one of nine individuals invited to meet with Dennis for a pre-dinner the night before the speech.

“It’s such a great honor to meet with her and to represent Better Together,” said Ahmed.

Dennis’ co-authored writing “St. Francis and the Foolishness of God” will also be read by freshmen students in the required university 100 classes.

Sr. John hopes the speech leads “students to recognize how their actions affect other people… and instead of living life in an angry manner, they could live life in a gentle way.”

Marie Dennis’ speech will take place on Monday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. the Latour Room of Nazareth Hall. The speech is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Sr. John at [email protected] or 570-961-4723.

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