Our Map to a Better World

The Common Good Can Guide Us When All Feels Uncertain

Laurie Carafone
May 13, 2026

Laurie Carafone

As we weather the daily barrage of cruel and chaotic news defining our current politics and culture — war, family separations, economic chaos, and more — it’s easy to feel lost, and it can be hard to see a clear path forward. We all yearn to get to a better place. 

What will it mean for people of faith and goodwill to engage genuinely and meaningfully with the myriad social and moral issues — some would say crises — as we approach the midterm elections? Listening and dialoguing with NETWORK colleagues, the road that rises to meet our feet is both awe-inspiring and daunting. But we trust it leads to a better place, a future where everyone is caring and cared for. 

Catholic Social Justice proclaims a world where every human need is inextricably entwined, weaving a stunning tapestry of human thriving: affordable health care, food, and housing; living wages; a healthy planet; and just and humane treatment of our neighbors. These issues are at the core of NETWORK’s “An Economy for All” policy agenda, but many U.S. Catholics aren’t fully aware of the rich treasure of the tradition more formally known as Catholic Social Teaching. 

Some call it a well-kept secret, but this body of teaching offers a map we can use with confidence toward a better world — we can follow its wise tenets to inform how we engage in times like these. How are we called to witness and take action together in the public square? Catholic Social Justice is not a theory or an intellectual exercise, but rather a blessedly simple and clear map of how people of faith are called to live the Gospel in our world — even for those of us who can’t read a map! It can save our lives. 

NETWORK’s Executive Director, Laurie Carafone speaking at the Multi-Faith Earth Day celebration.

When Catholic Social Justice is not centered in political or daily life, even believers may vote like so many of us do: along predictable party lines. Centering Catholic Social Justice helps us pause and consider candidates’ positions: will they support laws that alleviate poverty and increase access to health care and housing? Or will the candidate support measures that push these basic essentials even more out of reach for our families and communities? 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of “Economic Justice for All,” the landmark pastoral letter by the U.S. bishops on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. economy, including poverty, unemployment, and hunger. Reading the signs of their times, the bishops noted: 

“Many middle-class Americans feel themselves in the grip of economic demands and cultural pressures that go far beyond the individual family’s capacity to cope.” (paragraph 23) Revisiting the letter is an opportunity for many people—not just Catholics—to connect anew with the tenets of Catholic Social Justice and how they can guide our actions to ensure the common good. 

Forty years after the letter was issued, we know that most families can no longer live on a single income, often struggling even with two. We also recognize that some business and government leaders keep finding more immoral and devastating ways to burden working people, all to line their own pockets and advance corrupt and anti-democratic purposes. 

But we can find stillness in this chaos. We have the power to speak the truth: that wealth and profit need not be at the center of our world. Building the common good can and should be.

NETWORK advocates at multi-state “We The People” mini-rally events

As we live out these convictions, our Spirit-filled field has been busy at work, visiting their legislators with the 2025 NETWORK Voting Record, having hard conversations, and showing lawmakers the powerful map we hold — and asking them to come with us. 

These personal encounters are leading to connections, encouragement, and accountability. Catholic Social Justice inspires us to advocate fiercely now and into the coming months as we approach the midterm elections. Through the murky fog of lies, disappointment, cruelty, and corruption, we can follow our map, trust each step, and walk toward the light of that better place. 

Together, we will find our way home. 

Laurie Carafone, J.D., ThM, is Executive Director of NETWORK. This “Spirited Sisters” column originally appeared in the Quarter 2 2026 issue of NETWORK’s Connection magazine.