#29 with Rev. Charles McCarthy: "Action not motivated by love is ineffective in countering evil and death, my enemy is not God's enemy."
This week I speak with Rev. Charles McCarthy, one of the world’s great teachers of Christian nonviolence.
Rev. McCarthy is a priest of one of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Byzantine-Melkite, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, ordained in Damascus, Syria. He is a co-founder of Pax Christi-USA, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and author of "The Nonviolent Eucharist", "Christian Just War Theory: The Logic of Deceit" and "The Stations of the Cross of Nonviolent Love".
He has been a Catholic priest for forty years with a Master's Degrees in English and Theology from Notre Dame, and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Boston College Law School.
He was married for 53 years to Mary Margaret McCarthy, and they have 13 children and 23 grandchildren. (The cure of their daughter, Teresia Benedicta, was the official miracle for the canonization of Sr. Terese Benedicta, St. Edith Stein).
Charles McCarthy taught at the University of Notre Dame where he founded and was the original Director of The Program for the Study and Practice of Nonviolent Conflict Resolution. He served for many years at St. Gregory, the Theologian Byzantine-Melkite Catholic Seminary. For over fifty years he directed retreats and spoke at conferences throughout the world on the Nonviolent Jesus.
He describes how he defines nonviolence, and how that is modeled by Jesus in the Gospels and what our action taking looks like in the face of violence.
When asked how he defines “nonviolence,” he begins by saying, “Nonviolence is the nonviolent love of friends and enemies modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. Nonviolence asks, ‘Is this action that you are doing imbued with Christlike, nonviolent love?’
"Any action without love is nothing at all. If our actions are not motivated by and imbued with Christlike love, they are not going to be effective in countering evil and death."
“I've never been able to get beyond the fact that when the will of God is known, what follows immediately is an imperative to live it, embrace it, and follow it. When I thought of God, I thought of power, but God is something entirely different.
Find out more as we listen to Rev. Charles McCarthy and the revelation of God's love throught the most horrendous conditions, as modeled by the nonviolent Jesus.
Check it out, and read more at:
The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast:
🌎 What if the key to a more peaceful world is following the path of the nonviolent Jesus?
🎙️ Featuring thought-provoking conversations with visionary leaders like Martin Sheen, Bryan Stevenson, Kathy Kelly, Bill McKibben, Cornel West, Sister Helen Prejean, Rev. Richard Rohr, Shane Claiborne, and more!
Join Fr. John Dear—priest, author, activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee—for The Nonviolent Jesus, a weekly 30-minute podcast that dares to reclaim the radical, active nonviolence of Jesus. Rooted in the wisdom of Gandhi and Dr. King, this journey isn’t just about changing the world—it’s about transforming ourselves. 💙 we’ll explore how we can:
💠 Embody nonviolence—toward ourselves, others, and our communities 🤝
💠 Heal from the culture of violence—from war and racism to poverty and environmental destruction 🌱
💠 Live with courage, compassion, and universal love ❤️
Together, we’ll uncover how Jesus' way of nonviolence can reshape our lives and awaken a more just, peaceful world.
🔥 Ready to be part of the movement?
👉Subscribe now and follow The Nonviolent Jesus !
- No. of episodes: 31
- Latest episode: 2025-07-28
- Religion & Spirituality Spirituality Christianity
Where can you listen?
