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The Catholic social imaginary and peacebuilding. Ritual, sacrament, and spirituality.

Schreiter, Robert J.
June 4, 2015

Source: (2010) In, Robert j. Schreiter, et. al, editors, Peacebuilding: Catholic theology, ethics, and praxis. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. pp. 221-239.

The capacity to imagine peace, that is, to think differently about the conflict situation in order to come to new possibilities that might end the conflict, is now being recognized as one of the most important qualities of a peacebuilder. Such thinking focuses upon the creative, risk-taking dimensions of changing social relationships rather than directly upon the strategic aspects that most people associate with the peacebuilding enterprise. While imagining peace is not enough to bring about peace itself, it is increasingly being seen as a key component in making things change in peacebuilding. It recognizes the nonlinear and often “messy” dynamics of peacebuilding practices. (excerpt)

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