Integrating Roman Catholicism and Peace Studies

As the final written component for the Theologies of Violence and Nonviolence class I’ve been in (though we still have one more exam left) we were to write a summative essay linking the usefulness of course materials to an open question of our choosing. I chose to use this essay as a way to reflect on how to integrate the aspect of my identity that is my Roman Catholic religion with my deep interest/identity in Peace Studies, which at times are seemingly incompatible. This was a way to reflect directly upon one of the goals I’d written for myself in this course. I’m posting this essay here as a reflection on such an integration that may well be of interest and/or use to you, or may lead to positive discussion regarding this integration.