Michael Barnes, First Vice President
Barbara Flaherty, Honoree Michael Barnes, Fr. Sean McManus
CAPITOL HILL. Thursday, June 20, 2019— A top Philadelphia-based Labor leader has been awarded the World Peace Prize.
Michael Barnes, First International Vice President, IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) and a Vice President of the New Jersey AFL-CIO.was presented with the World Peace Prize of “Roving Ambassador for Peace” on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at a ceremony in IATSE’s Philadelphia headquarters.
The late World Leader and Master Planner, Rev. Dr. Han Min Su, founded the World Peace Prize in Seoul, South Korea, in 1989.
The presentation was made by Fr. Sean McManus—Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize and President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus— and the ceremony was chaired by Barbara Flaherty, a Judge of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council, and Executive Vice President of the Irish National Caucus.
The World Peace Prize Awarding Council consists of 14-member Board of International and Interfaith judges. The Board is comprised of representatives of the world’s nine major religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Russian Orthodox, and Zoroastrianism.
Fr. Mc Manus explained: “Working for peace, locally or globally, means, in effect and of necessity, working for social justice. Therefore, members of the Labor Movement are ideally qualified to be recipients of our World Peace Prize. Michael Barnes eminently deserves this Prize. As Pope John Paul II has said, ‘peace is the fruit of solidarity.’ And the American Labor Movement is dedicated to solidarity, which Pope John Paul II raised to the status of a virtue in his Encyclical: Sollicitudo rei socialis (“Solicitude for social concerns”) 1988.”
Mr. Barnes expressed delight and honor as he humbly received the World Peace Prize. He outlined his long family involvement in the Labor Movement and in IATSE, stressing his proud Irish heritage and strong Irish Catholic tradition.
