Catholic Theological Union honors Kroc Institute with peacemakers award

Author: Joan Fallon

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Notre Dames Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies has received the 2008Blessed are the PeacemakersAward from Catholic Theological Union (CTU), the largest Catholic graduate school of theology in North America.

The award is offered each year to an institution or individualwhose accomplishments and commitments reflect the values of our own mission, particularly in the areas of reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking,according to the award letter from CTU.

Rev. Donald Senior, C.P., president of CTU, wrote that the board of trustees wished tohonor the Institute for the extraordinary contribution it has made in preparing graduate students and in promoting research and study on issues of peacemaking. CTU feels a deep affinity with the mission and spirit of the Institute . . . At a precarious time in world history, we believe that honoring peacemakers is itself an important witness.

Past award recipients include Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of Notre Dame; Lea Rabin, widow of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin; Sargent and Eunice Shriver; Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem; Queen Noor of Jordan; Nobel Laureate John Hume of Northern Ireland; Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican Office for Ecumenism; Steven Spielberg, for his establishment of the Shoah Visual History Foundation; the One Voice Movement for Peace in Israel and Palestine; Jean Vanier, the founder of the LArche community for mentally disabled adults; the Council of Religious Leaders for Metropolitan Chicago; and Sen. John Danforth, former ambassador to the United Nations.

Kroc Institute director R. Scott Appleby will accept the award on April 29 in Chicago at a dinner attended by more than 800 of Chicagos religious, civic and business leaders.

Appleby said the Kroc Institute isdeeply honored to be recognized by CTU and to be in the company of so many extraordinary organizations and individuals who have received this award in the past. We are also very pleased that the award shines a spotlight on the important role that academic research and education play in advancing peace worldwide and supporting the Churchs efforts in peacebuilding.

The Kroc Institute is a center of international peace research and education at the University of Notre Dame. Faculty members study the causes of violent conflict and contribute to strategies for just and sustainable peace. The institute offers undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees in peace studies.More information is available on the Web at http://kroc.nd.edu .

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