ARTICLE 31 Spiral of Violence

Root causes of Violence Calling another person a derogatory name Slandering another person Violating professional secrets, including the seal of confession Bullying another person Belittling another person by attacking his or her physical appearance, intelligence, ethnic background, family, religious beliefs, and so on Manipulating or forcing someone into having sex against his or her will Prohibiting someone from practicing his or her faith Causing people to be poor, hungry, or illiterate because of the unjust distribution of the earth’s resources Selling weapons that will be used in immoral armed conflicts Causing people illness or even death by tampering with the earth’s environment

Spiral of Violence A concept that was used by Brazilian Archbishop Dom Helder Camara Concept is rooted in human tendency toward retaliation and revenge. One person is harmed so they retaliate. The original attacker now becomes the victim and the original victim the attacker. Left unchecked, the roles continue to reverse The Spiral of Violence grows in intensity and engulfs more people.

5 Stages of Spiral of Violence Stage 1: Basic Injustice It begins when a conflict is resolved selfishly, seeking only a person’s own interests at the expense of the good of others

5 Stages of Spiral of Violence Stage 2: Violent Response If the injustice is severe enough, it can cause a response by those affected People frustrated by an injustice often see no other solution than the use of violence

5 Stages of Spiral of Violence Stage 3: Violent Counter Response Once one side decides to use violence to solve a conflict, the other side might see no other choice but to respond with an even greater violence

5 Stages of Spiral of Violence Stage 4: Escalating Violence The level of violence escalates as each side attempts to overcome the other with the use of greater force. Each side feels justified in its response because of the harm that has already been inflicted by the other side.

5 Stages of Spiral of Violence Stage 5: Violence Ends Temporarily, Followed by More Injustice When one side uses enough violence/force to overwhelm the other side, the conflict appears to end In reality, the spiral often returns to the first step where the “winner” imposes his or her will on the “loser” in an unjust way

Confronting Violence through Social Teaching There are two valid approaches to confronting violence in Catholic Social Teaching: 1. We defend ourselves with the minimal amount of force and violence necessary. 2. We use nonviolent conflict resolution and nonviolent resistance to evil.

The Words of Jesus Christ Christ calls us to refuse to participate in the Spiral of Violence – to not return violence with violence, hate with hate, evil with evil “But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27- 28)