Building shalom: Integrating social work,peacebuilding and Catholic Social Teaching for transformational change

ABSTRACT

This article argues for greater integration between peacebuilding and social work, based on shared values, complementary practices, and congruence among key underlying theories in both fields. The article also describes how principles of Catholic Social Teaching align with and enhance both social work and peacebuilding. The implications of the ecological model for the three commonly accepted domains of social work practice—micro, mezzo, and macro—find equivalent expression in dimensions of conflict transformation, as well as in Catholic Relief Services’ approach to building social cohesion by working iteratively at individual, intragroup, and intergroup levels. Three case studies illustrate this approach.