A monthly publication
of the
Thomas Merton Center

2002 Funding Appeal!  Click here to find out how you can support the TMC.
For thirty years, the Thomas Merton Center has stood at the front of the struggle for social justice in Pittsburgh. You’ve been there or heard about it…we’ve educated and organized against world and local hunger, exploitation of workers, militarism, and racial discrimination in Pittsburgh…we’ve worked against the nuclear arms race and apartheid in South Africa. …we’ve acted in solidarity with Central America…we’ve organized fasts and vigils. And, of course, we’ve always been a resource for dozens of social justice and peace groups in the region. The Thomas Merton Center has simply been living the vision - raising the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism and oppression - in all the work that we’ve been doing throughout the years.

But most importantly, that vision has been infectious. Peace has caught like wildfire through the denser thicket of the steel mill shut-downs, the push for increased military spending, and corporate welfare. We’ve joined with other groups when we knew we couldn’t do it alone, helping to establish Jubilee soup kitchen and a chapter of Amnesty International. And most recently, our opposition to the war has beckoned to supporters who feel the need for peace deeply in their hearts. As unpopular and polarizing as our nonviolent stance could be, it has only strengthened our community. A community that you’re part of.

Look what happens when that community thrives!

Our membership has begun to reflect the diverse movement for change. Students from nearby universities regularly drop by the Center to plan teach-ins and forums. The radical cheerleaders raise a ruckus at our rallies. The TMC is the place to turn when an anti-corporate globalization protest pops up in New York or D.C. We’ve once again become that energized force that had ignited activism on the streets of the South Side back in 1972. And we’re not slowing down!

The Dialogue for Democracy, recently planned with area activists of Zi, tapped into the special talents of lesser known but fiercely dedicated activists to pull together an event with international recognized writers, physicians and activists, such as Patch Adams and Helen Caldicott, that we’ve only dreamed of attempting. Our new computers and DSL connection have allowed us to organize in the fast lane of the information super highway. The NewPeople peace and social justice newspaper has been expanding coverage and keeping up with the fast paced peace-making that continues in our city. It’s been a candle in the darkness for those who know war is not the answer, lighting the path for them to join our community. And now, with the pending success of a proposal for increased distribution, drop boxes for the paper could soon light the streets of our city.

But we need you to keep the fire going. 

Click here to find out how you can get involved.

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"I am against war, against violence, against violent revolution, for peaceful settlement of differences, for nonviolent but nevertheless radical changes. Change is needed, and violence will not really change anything: at most it will only transfer power from one set of bull-beaded authorities to another."  Thomas Merton
© Thomas Merton Center 2002