Longtime peacemakers Daniel and Philip Berrigan were nominated for the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize by Mairead Maguire. Maguire won the prize in 1976 for working for peace in Northern Ireland.
"These two brothers," Maguire said, "...fearlessly live out their Christian beliefs and set an example to the rest of us of what it truly means to a Christian. War, and preparation for war, is wrong and-like the Berrigan brothers-we must never be afraid to oppose it in our words and actions."
Mexican bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia was also nominated for the 1998 Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). As Catholic bishop of Chiapas for more than 40 years, Ruiz has been an advocate for nonviolent social change in the effort to improve the living conditions of the Maya population there. Ruiz is also a mediator in the conflict between the Zapatistas and the Mexican government that began in 1994.
"By nominating him for the Nobel," said AFSC Executive Director Kara Newell, "we are trying to draw world attention to the plight of the indigenous people of Mexico." Newell said that Ruiz's "exemplary struggle to translate moral and religious principles into a model for human service" deserves more recognition.
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