Peace Activist G. Simon Harak, S.J., to Speak at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Peace activist G. Simon Harak, S.J., will deliver a lecture on Tuesday, March 27, at 8 p.m. in the Browsing Room of Dinand Library. Harak’s lecture, titled "Iraq: Behind the Headlines," is free and open to the public. Harak will interact with Holy Cross students in religion classes March 26-28, and preside over 7 p.m. mass in the St. Joseph Chapel on March 25.

Harak, who has been active in the peace movement for many years, recently resigned his professorship at Fairfield University (Conn.) to work full time on peace and justice issues. He has traveled to Iraq with "Voices in the Wilderness: A Campaign to Break the Immoral Sanctions Against the People of Iraq," where he openly and publicly violated U.S./U.N. sanctions against bringing medicine and toys to Iraqi hospitals.

In 1970, Harak entered the Jesuits and has served as a missionary in Jamaica and the Philippines. He has authored and edited numerous works on religion and the peace movement, including "Virtuous Passions: The Formation of Christian Character" (Paulist, 1993), and "Nonviolence for the Third Millennium" (Mercer University Press, 1999). He has given more than 75 presentations across the U.S. on the effects of the sanctions on Iraq, most recently addressing a Congress of Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations.

He is currently one of the site coordinators of the "Remembering Omran Bus Tour," which "barnstorms" the country, informing campuses and peace groups about the nature of US-Iraq relations. In his presentation, Harak will take his audience "Behind the Headlines" to discover what is happening "on the ground" in Iraq.

This lecture is sponsored by Pax Christi, the President's Office, the Peace and Conflict Studies concentration, and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.