PAX IN FAMILIA

HELPING CATHOLIC AND CHRISTIAN FAMILIES TROUBLED BY RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE AND ABUSE.

WHO WE ARE:

Pax in Familia is an international Catholic organization dedicated to peace, and to the prevention of violence and abuse in Catholic and Christian families, founded by Dr. Christauria Welland-Akong and Michael Akong, L.Ac., M.P.H, M.Sc.

WHAT WE DO:

Pax in Familia offers workshops, conferences, online courses, and educational materials in print, online, and for download on intimate partner violence in Catholic and Christian families to pastoral agents worldwide.

GREAT NEWS FOR FAMILIES!!

Michael Akong and Christauria Welland-Akong of Pax in Familia were selected to speak on domestic violence in Catholic families at the World Meeting of Families in Rome in June, 2022. Over 2000 participants were in attendance at their presentation.

They were invited by the Diocese of Rome, and were delegates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Read about their presentation and listen to the interview by Vatican Media:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2022-06/wmof-family-violence-interview-christauria-welland.html

Watch Vatican Media Video of 20″ presentation at World Meeting of Families, Rome, June 24, 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxZ-xm8PEAc&t=11220s

Read about Pax in Familia on the Website of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Initiatives for the Formation of the Lay Faithful.

https://laityinvolved.org/project/pax-in-familia/

ONLINE TRAINING IN PASTORAL RESPONSES, NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND SPANISH! SCROLL DOWN

Dr. Christauria Welland and her husband, Michael Akong, L.Ac, MPH, MSc. in Ecuador, 2019.

POPE FRANCIS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

I would like to stress the fact that, even though significant advances have been made in the recognition of women’s rights and their participation in public life, in some countries much remains to be done to promote these rights. Unacceptable customs still need to be eliminated. I think particularly of the shameful ill-treatment to which women are sometimes subjected, domestic violence and various forms of enslavement which, rather than a show of masculine power, are craven acts of cowardice. The verbal, physical, and sexual violence that women endure in some marriages contradicts the very nature of the conjugal union.

Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, #54

Letter to Pax in Familia from Pope Francis, February, 2021

Letter from Holy Father 020221

LEARN MORE NOW:

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR FREE DOWNLOAD OR IN PRINT FOR PURCHASE

Our specific goal is to serve the Catholic community, where there is a lack of material incorporating Catholic spirituality and the teaching of Scripture and the Magisterium  into contemporary research and practice on intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence. This is not because intimate partner violence (domestic violence) is not found in families of all kinds. It is because we wish to train out gaze on Catholic and Christian families who have not been approached as a faith community, and to reach out specifically to them. Our materials are also appropriate for Christian communities of other denominations.

3rd English Edition for North America, 2022

Our areas of focus are threefold:

  1. Train pastoral agents on every continent on effective and compassionate responses to women, children, and men who are affected by violence.
  2. Teach effective and research-based strategies on every continent to prevent family violence that pastoral agents can share widely with their parishioners and students.
  3. Provide treatment programs on every continent for both survivors of domestic violence and those who abuse that incorporate Catholic teaching and spirituality into evidence-informed treatment strategies and approaches.

Our audience includes Episcopal Conferences worldwide, bishops, priests, pastors, seminarians, permanent deacons, religious sisters and brothers, Catholic & Christian educators, catechists, family life ministers, counselors and healthcare workers. Pastoral agents from other religions are always welcome at our workshops.

ONLINE TRAINING IN PASTORAL RESPONSES, NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND SPANISH! FULL SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE.

On February 2, 2021 we inaugurated our first online workshop in English for certification from anywhere in the world. The course is entitled:

VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN CATHOLIC & CHRISTIAN FAMILIES: PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE AND COMPASSIONATE PASTORAL RESPONSE

https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com

VIOLENCIA Y ABUSO EN FAMILIAS CATÓLICAS Y CRISTIANAS: PREPARANDO UNA RESPUESTA PASTORAL EFECTIVA Y COMPASIVA. 

https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com/home-espanol

VIOLENCE ET ABUS DANS LES FAMILLES CATHOLIQUES ET CHRÉTIENNES: PRÉPARER UNE RÉPONSE PASTORALE EFFICACE ET COMPASSIONNELLE

https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com/home-francais

Length of Course:  Eight modules total, each module lasts 5 hours, completely self-paced, with online learning and studying, including brief tests for each module and a final examl. Successful participants receive a Pastoral Certificate provided by Pax in Familia. Students can work on the course at their own pace. The course may be taken individually, with Zoom meetings for the discussions, or as a group in a parish, diocese, or pastoral association.

Total Time: 40 Hours: 32 hours online learning; 8 hours reading/study.

Cost of the workshop & certificate: $149 or $37.25 in 4 monthly payments. Discounts or Scholarships are available to students in low and middle-income countries. Please do not hesitate to contact us. Pax in Familia is committed to sharing this course with pastoral agents throughout the world.

For more information/para más información: paxinfamiliatraining@gmail.com

PAX IN FAMILIA WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES REACH AROUND THE WORLD, LIKE THE ARMS OF THE CHURCH

AMERICAS:

United States, Mexico, Ecuador

Sisters from all over Latin America attend the Pax in Familia workshop in Spanish at Mexican American Catholic College, San Antonio, Texas, USA. October 2019.
Msgr. Bertram Wick, Bishop of Santo Domingo en Ecuador, joined the lay participants of the second workshop given by Pax in Familia in Spanish in Ecuador, October 2019.

SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lanka, India

Bishops. priests, sisters, and family life ministers from all over Sri Lanka attended the Pax in Familia workshop in Colombo, February 2020.

AFRICA:

Bishops and priests from South Africa and Botswana celebrate the Eucharist at the Southern African Bishops Conference workshop in Johannesburg, 2018.

Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi: Seven workshops from October – December 2018. You can read the Report here.   

 Pax in Familia Africa 2018 report final

Ghana Episcopal Conference workshops. Koforidua Sunyani
Episcopal Conference of Cameroun, workshop in English and French, Yaounde.
Bishop Celestin Hakizimana with priests, sisters and faithful of the Diocese of Gikongoro, Rwanda. Workshop in Kinyarwanda.
Core leadership group for Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops, Nairobi. Participants from Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.
Bishops, priests, sisters and laity from all over the country attended the workshop for the Episcopal Conference of Malawi in Lilongwe.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

  • We have established an online teaching presence with credentialing options. Level One course in English: https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com/
  • Level One Español (Spanish): https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com/home-espanol
  • Level One Français (French): https://health-transformations.learnworlds.com/home-francais
  • Level Two will be a 16-week therapy or support group for Catholic/Christian survivors of domestic violence and will be released online in 2023 in English, Spanish and French.
  • Level Three will be a 20-week therapy or support group for Catholic/Christian men who abuse their partners. It can also be used as a support group for all the men of the parish. It will be released online in 2023 in English, Spanish and French.
  • We hope to reach Papua New Guinea and the Philippines in 2024. As a Fulbright Specialist, Dr. Welland may be teaching at universities in those areas.
  • We will continue our teaching and research partnerships in the countries where we have already collaborated, and follow-up/consult with our many students.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD OR IN PRINT FOR PURCHASE. 

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR FREE DOWNLOAD OR IN PRINT FOR PURCHASE