John Dear to discuss his latest book

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — Fr. John Dear will give a presentation on his new book, “They Will Inherit the Earth: Peace & Nonviolence in a Time of Climate Change,” at St. Vincent de Paul Parish on May 23.

John Dear, an internationally known speaker on peace and nonviolence, is a retreat leader, and the author/editor of 25 books, including his autobiography, “A Persistent Peace.” He is a former member of the Society of Jesus. In 2008, Archbishop Desmond Tutu nominated Dear for the Nobel Peace Prize, and from 1998 to 2000 he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Dear served as a Red Cross chaplain and became a coordinator of the Family Assistance Center chaplain program, working with first responders and family members who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack. At the same time, he publicly opposed the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. He now works with campaingnon-violence.org and the Vatican Nonviolence Initiative.

This is the third time  he has visited the Diocese of Salt Lake City. The first time was in 2009 and the second in 2014.

“We are very fond of Fr.John Dear and we like very much the things that he stands for,” said Catherine Kreuter, one of the organizers of the event and a parishioner of Saint Ambrose Catholic Church. “It was time to bring him again.”

The event is organized by the Gandhi Alliance for Peace, which was founded in 1988 to “increase peaceful communication, understanding, nonviolence and joyful collaboration among people,” its mission statement says

When they were searching for a place for Dear’s presentation, “Saint Vincent de Paul opened its doors,” Kreuter said. “Fr. John Norman (the pastor) was very welcoming.”

The event will be comprised of a reading, reflection and book-signing.

In the book,  Fr. John cites Jesus’ third Beatitude as the basis of his meditation: “Blessed are the meek, they will inherit the earth.”

This book is different from the  Fr. John’s other works, Kreuter said, because Dear incorporates some of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si,” which was released in 2015.

WHAT: Spend an Evening with John Dear: discussion of his new book, “They Will Inherit the Earth: Peace and Nonviolence in a Time of Climate Change”

WHEN: Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1375 E. Spring Lane, Salt Lake City