Charlene Marie Howard

Joseph Connor had his back turned to the large window of his 36th floor office when he "suddenly more felt than heard" the massive impact of a commercial jet slamming into the north tower of the World Trade Center a third of a mile away on Sept. 11, 2001.

As bishop president and executive director of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, we are committed to promoting nonviolence and protecting human dignity in our families, neighborhoods, parishes, nation and world. We are carrying on the work and mission shaped over decades by bishops, religious women and lay leaders — work that was sorely tested by the tragic events nearly 25 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.