Pax Christi Scotland marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of Pax Christi International by hosting Martha Inés Romero, Secretary General of PCI, who generously detoured from her home in Colombia on her way to the celebrations in Brussels. She was with us from 2nd to 11th March 2025.
As you can see from the diary of her visit, It was an action-packed ten days, including speaking engagements at the theology department of the University of Glasgow, the Scottish Parliament, and the Scottish Bishops’ Conference Interreligious Dialogue Committee’s Symposium.
Throughout, I was her ‘roadie’ – and I hope that those who carry guitar cases for rock stars have as rewarding time as I did. It was especially meaningful for me when we attended the annual Glasgow Catholic Worker’s Ash Wednesday vigil at Faslane, home to the UK’s nuclear submarine base. With the abolition of weapons of mass destruction at the core of Pax Christi’s work for a nonviolent world, joining with representatives from Catholic Worker and Justice and Peace Scotland in prayer and receiving ashes mingled with the Holy Loch waters was an emotional experience.
It was also very special when Martha Inés delivered the Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament. That is relayed throughout the building into every office, so for MSPs and civil servants there was no escaping her invocation that “Only through nonviolence can we build a more peaceful world.”
There were other important points for MSPs to take away from this short but powerful address. Martha Inés added that not only is Pax Christi an advocate for nuclear disarmament and against increasing budgets for war, but that in valuing the dignity and worth of every human being, the Catholic organisation works worldwide to halt extractivism that through mining and agrobusiness damages lives and threatens peace.
The evening reception at Holyrood was attended by parliamentarians and others and was made possible through the generous assistance of Richard Leonard MSP. It was hosted by Pax Christi Scotland, Justice and Peace Scotland, Justice for Colombia and SCIAF. When Callum Timms (one of our executive committee members and a principal guidance teacher) turned up with pupils from St Columba’s High School, Dunfermline, it was the icing on the cake. These young people are the future, and from the questions they asked Martha Inés and the panel of speakers, their plans for that future are big on peace and justice.
Coming together with so many organisations during our whirlwind week or so of engagements (organised so well by Hugh Foy, another of our executive committee members) met with Martha Inés’s full support – she stressed time and again that we must all work together for peace & a nonviolent world.
At the headquarters of SCIAF, we met staff online and in person. Ben Wilson, SCIAF’s Advocacy Manager and Director of Public Engagement, led a Q & A session that filled in some gaps on the situation in Colombia. SCIAF’s Lenten campaign focuses on its support for a project in the northwest of Colombia. Their board member Canon Michael Hutson had visited Choco in 2024, and Martha Inés was able to reassure staff that the project continues to make a difference for peace in peoples’ lives in what has been a very violent area.
When we got round to climate change, exacerbated by the extractivism that Martha Inés stressed as a key factor in prompting conflict, Ben (who attends annual COP meetings) suggested that ahead of COP 30, SCIAF, Pax Christi Scotland and Pax Christi International could liaise to highlight these concerns to governments, discussing the way forward on the climate emergency.
A personal eleven out of ten meeting for me was the Interreligious Dialogue Symposium. This took place at the Conforti Centre, where Martha Inés and I stayed throughout her visit, generously hosted by the Xaverian Mission, who are, of course, Pax Christi Scotland’s chaplains.
Martha Inés was the keynote speaker on the Friday evening, and then on the Saturday she joined Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, trustee of Religions for Peace and chair of their Women of Faith Network, and Dr Maureen Sier, director of Interfaith Scotland, for a panel discussion. These three inspiring women spoke passionately of the need for all faiths to work together, but out of nowhere, all three lighted on an issue that Pax Christi Scotland intends to prioritise in the coming months – gender violence. The women agreed that as statistics continue to rise, shared strategies will be essential: a very practical outcome of interreligious dialogue.
Our final event with Martha Inés was our Pax Christi Scotland retreat. Prayer and meditation punctuated discussion on the way forward for this Scottish member of Pax Christi International, with inspirational input from Martha Inés.
Delivering the Secretary General to Glasgow airport at 5.30am on March 13 so that she could lead the 80th anniversary celebrations for Pax Christi International felt like saying goodbye to a sister. And of course, Martha Inés is a sister in Christ as we all continue to work for human dignity, for justice, for peace, and a nonviolent world.
Marian Pallister, Pax Christi Scotland Chair
A Gallery of Martha Inés Romero's Visit to Scotland, March 2025
Click on any imager to enlarge and to open a slide show.
