Category Archives: Front Page

Daring to Hope for our Nation

Daring to Hope for our Nation

Sister Susan Rose Francois, CSJP
October 15, 2020

Four years ago, it was my honor and privilege to be a Nun on the Bus. You remember that election, I’m sure. I was on the bus from Janesville, Wisconsin to Cleveland, Ohio. Along the way, I met some amazing people and heard incredible stories about the joys and struggles of our sisters and brothers across the country. My leg on the trip ended at the Republican National Convention where we passed out lemonade to attendees and asked them three questions:

  1. Who is difficult to talk to about politics in your family and why?
  2. What concerns you about the election?
  3. What gives you hope for our nation?

Four years later, I still remember those conversations. As I wrote in 2016, “‘Our diversity is our strength,’ one man from Wisconsin told me. ‘It can be scary, but over time our country will heal based on our strong values.’ Another from Tennessee said, ‘We have overcome a lot before as a nation and can do it again.’”

For that to be possible, we need to bridge the growing political divide. We need to sweeten the sour conversations in our body politic, in our families and in our communities. We need to talk with people with whom we do not normally engage. If we want to mend the gaps and reweave the fabric of society, then we need to move beyond trading barbs, attacks, and presumed facts, and focus instead on our hearts, probe our fears, and dare to hope for our nation.

Sadly, the divide has deepened and the gaps seem even wider today. I believe that this 2020 election comes at a critical time in our nation’s story. The theme of the 2020 Nuns on the Bus Tour is therefore quite fitting: Who We Elect Matters. For this reason, I decided to get back on the bus this year to talk about how I feel called to be a multi-issue voter.

In many ways, the voter I am today is because of my Mom. My Mom knew in her bones that who we elect matters in the lives of real people, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. She taught me to care for life at all stages, to promote human dignity and the common good, and to bring all those concerns into the voting booth (or onto the pages of a mail-in ballot, as the case may be).

I hope you participate during our 2020 Nuns on the Bus tour or find time to watch events that have been recorded and saved online. However, most importantly, I pray that all voters will take this election seriously, follow their conscience, and vote for the common good.

Susan Rose Francois, CSJP is a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace and a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph congregational leadership team. This reflection was originally published on Sister Susan’s blog “At the Corner of Susan and St. Joseph” (www.susanandstjoseph.com). You can also find her on Twitter, tweeting a daily prayer for President Trump at @susanfrancois.

This story was published in the Fourth Quarter 2020 issue of Connection magazine. Read the full issue.

Discussing the Three C’s at a San Antonio Town Hall

Discussing the Three C’s at a San Antonio Town Hall

Sr. Bernadine Karge
October 9, 2020

Friday night, Oct. 9, found 77 folks on the bus at Network’s town hall in San Antonio, sponsored by the Intercongregational Leadership Group of San Antonio. The seven men on the bus were outnumbered 10 to 1 by women. Curiously, three of the seven were named James or Jim!

In the opening prayer, we called upon the fire of the Spirit to give us audacity and hope in this election season to engage in dialogue with others even though we may disagree with their viewpoints. Encounter, being together and seeking a future of freedom will enable us to be community.

Our animated interfaith exchange evolved into the three C’s: the common good, character and conscience. Most of the attendees lived in the San Antonio and Austin areas. As part of this wonderful multicultural, multilingual, multiracial world, they identified immigration as one of the key issues in which they are involved.

 

A health care worker adjusts a monitor on a patient's hand at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston Sept. 30. Texas ranks 50th in the United States for access to affordable health care. (CNS/Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare)

A health care worker adjusts a monitor on a patient’s hand at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston Sept. 30. Texas ranks 50th in the United States for access to affordable health care. (CNS/Reuters/Callaghan O’Hare)

The fact that Texas ranks 50th in the United States for access to affordable health care was raised by many as something they are not proud of as Texans.

Those who work in agriculture know the need to organize, cooperate and work to bring in the harvest. Care for the environment, care of the Earth, education and economic equity were also added to the common-good stew.

The character of whom we elect was raised as most important. Is there one who can see how our policies are the sources of suffering, inequity, grief and fear among the community? Is there one who can recognize those who suffer with empathy and compassion?

One of the nuns on the bus who recently returned to the United States after 50 years on mission in many African countries reflected on the blast of vitriol present in the public discourse in the United States. In this time of fever pitch, we need the ability to listen to another, to respect the human dignity of each person, to seek truth and to live with integrity.

“Be curious, not furious” was a slogan shared to be a means to encountering another without judgment.

As we moved on in our conversation, the word “conscience” came to the fore. We raised the fact that the issues of this time cross interfaith barriers. An integrated, holistic approach to honoring each human is possible. Each person has a conscience, whether they operate out of a faith tradition or not. Each of us can choose to show empathy. As someone remarked, “A little goes a long way.”

One thing that the COVID-19 rollercoaster has taught us is that we are all in this together. There is something we can do: Get out to vote and bring your friends. “Silence is violence.”

[Sr. Bernadine Karge is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, who has practiced immigration law in Chicago for more than 30 years.]

Seeking the Divine in the Darkness

Seeking the Divine in the Darkness

Braving this Time with Courage and Wisdom

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS
October 13, 2020

As we approach these days before a national election, we are called to embody the Divine spark in a new and challenging way. For us here at NETWORK we have been walking in new ways this election year.

For the first time in our forty-eight year history, we have taken a positon on a presidential candidate. We have opposed the re-election of President Trump because he does not embody any aspect of Catholic Social Teaching. (Read our statement: “Catholics Cannot Vote for Trump”.)

NETWORK has created a Pope Francis Voter website and created social media ads to promote it to viewers who might not otherwise see it. With the help of a NETWORK supporter, we have created this website in Spanish and created Spanish-language social media ads.

We have boldly spoken out about the fact that to solely support the criminalization of abortion or oppose a woman’s right to make a moral choice is not embodying the fullness of the teachings of our Catholic faith. We have spoken the truth that we are pro-life in our support for pregnant women through health care, nutrition, housing, and myriad other pro-life policies. (Download the Equally Sacred Scorecard.)

We have created a virtual Nuns on the Bus trip that is focused on being a multi-issue voter. This is a multi-faceted trip focused on critical states to advance our democratic effort to bring the Gospel to life. (Join the 2020 Virtual Bus Trip.)

But, the whole experience is groping in the dark as the spiritual journey and politics converge. And then hearing of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I was pulled into a deep sadness and sense of cataclysmic destruction. In the midst of tears, it led me to remember my August retreat where I had told my retreat director that I like the dark because the dark lets the Divine shine.

This led me to thinking about the Dark Night of the Soul and I began to consider that this is the dark night of our nation. Theologian Matthew Fox refers to this as “lucky darkness” where there is little or nothing to steer by but the fire deep in our hearts. Meister Eckhart calls this the “spark of God” urging us on to follow and learn.

In the midst of these dark nights, chaos reigns and there are no guideposts that are to be trusted. In the face of such darkness and worry, what are we to do?

This moment calls for spiritual courage to face the struggle and trust that the Divine spark is alive in our midst loving us into courageous action, wise words, and generous hearts.

In this experience of liberating darkness during these last weeks and days before the polls close, let us commit ourselves to sacred action. Then in whatever follows, let us commit ourselves to be missionaries for the common good. Let us bring the truth of the Gospel and the strength of the Spirit with us into action so that the prayer I prayed on the last night of the Democratic National Convention might be realized:

The very first paragraph of the Scripture that informs the three Abrahamic traditions tells us: “The Divine Spirit breathed over the waters of chaos and brought forth a new creation.” Encouraged by this promise that a new creation can come from chaos, let us pray:

O Divine Spirit!

During the weeks and months ahead, stir our hearts and minds that we might fight for a vision that is worthy of you and your call to honor the dignity of all of your creation.

A vision of who we are as a people, grounded in community and care for all, especially the most marginalized.

A vision that cares for our earth and heals the planet.

A vision that ends structural racism, bigotry, and sexism so rife now in our nation and in our history.

A vision that ensures hungry people are fed, children are nourished, immigrants are welcomed.

O Spirit, breathe in us and our leaders a new resolve…that committed to this new promise, we will work together to build a national community grounded in healing, fearlessly based on truth, and living out of a sense of shared responsibility.

In the name of all that is holy, O Spirit, bring out of this time of global and national chaos a new creation, a new community that can – with your help – realize this promise that we affirm tonight.

With profound hope, let we the people say: Amen!

Watch Sr. Simone deliver this prayer.

This story was published in the Fourth Quarter 2020 issue of Connection magazine. Read the full issue.

Bus Blog: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Alliance for Fair Food

Bus Blog: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Alliance for Fair Food

Caraline Feairheller
October 13, 2020

On Thursday October 8, The Nuns on the Bus Virtual Tour had a site visit with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Alliance for Fair Food. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is located in Immokalee Florida and is a worker-based human rights organization that fights against human trafficking and gender-based violence. The Alliance for Fair Food (AFF) is a coalition of CIW, Interfaith Action, Student Farmworker Alliance, and Just Harvest that joined together to build collective strength and stand with farmworkers as they advance their struggle for justice and dignity. During the Visit, Sister Simone Campbell spoke with Nely, Julia, Silvia, and Cruz from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as well as Uriel from the Alliance for Fair Food.

Organizing efforts for both the CIW and AFF begin with this question of “who has power?” Their work has taught them that by gathering together and targeting the massive food corporation who use their power to leverage farmworkers, they are able to make workplace changes such as increased wages and greater protections against violence. During the conversation Silvia emphasized how “gender-based and sexual violence continue to be a big problem in this industry. Through the Alliance for Fair Food we have been able to see a significant change in terms of protections and creating a culture where women are able to speak up without fear of retaliation.”

In Immokalee, Florida there have been over 2,250 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Due to a variety of factors in housing, access to medical care, and transportation farmworkers are uniquely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as Cruz said during the site visit, “all our small actions add up to something momentous. Those small actions have meant a difference to farmworkers having their rights respected” One of those small actions the CIW is asking us to take is to sign the petition calling for the government to take the necessary steps to protect essential farmworkers.

Watch the Nuns on the Bus site visit to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers/Alliance for Fair Food to learn more. Watch on Facebook or YouTube.

Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court, and COVID-19: A Case of Misplaced Priorities

Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court, and COVID-19: A Case of Misplaced Priorities

Laura Peralta-Schulte
October 12, 2020

Right now, families and communities across the United States are in crisis. With the COVID-19 pandemic spiraling out of control and a pronounced economic slowdown, the nation’s health and economic security are at high risk. The new Census Household Pulse Survey data released last week shows that since late August the overall number of adults struggling to cover usual household expenses such as food, rent or mortgage, car payments, medical expenses, or student loans is expanding rapidly. Nearly 77 million adults – 1 in 3 – reported it was somewhat or very difficult for their household to cover usual expenses in the past seven days, according to data collected September 16-28. Meanwhile, federal supplemental unemployment benefits have run out for millions of people who have lost their jobs, many permanently. Without federal action, jobless workers grappling with sharply reduced incomes will face growing challenges paying their bills. As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said recently: “Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses…Even if policy actions ultimately prove to be greater than needed, they will not go to waste.”

It is against this backdrop that President Trump and Senator McConnell announced this week they are stopping negotiations with Speaker Pelosi and House leadership on a COVID-19 relief package and instead focusing solely on plans to confirm Trump’s nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The Senate has failed to provide any meaningful coronavirus relief legislation since April 2020 – nearly half a year has passed with unnecessary suffering and death due to this lack of response. Urgent action should be taken to alleviating the suffering and economic distress of the people experiencing this crisis, but instead the Senate is engaged in high stakes partisan politics.

NETWORK strongly opposes a hasty confirmation process the Senate is conducting so close to a national election in which many Americans will have already cast their ballot. The timing disregards the voice of the electorate and undermines trust in our democratic institutions, which is already fragile. There is a real cost to tarnishing the national perception of Congress and the presidency by focusing on expediting a Supreme Court nominee while failing to attend to the protracted national suffering.

During this fragile time in our nation, it is vital that our national leaders act with prudence rather than political posturing. Our democratic institutions are maintained by norms and tradition to uphold the balance of powers between the three branches of government. There is no precedent for allowing a president to have such extraordinary influence over the outcome of the next federal election, which he is already threatening to contest. The one at risk of facing judgment should not get to choose the judges.

A fast-tracked confirmation process of Judge Barrett is a clear abdication of the Senate’s constitutional advice-and-consent function. It jeopardizes the rights and lives of the most vulnerable among us and it undermines the integrity of our most basic democratic norms and institutions.

October 2020 feels like a tipping point for our democracy –the fatigue and hardship of the people, the cynicism and division of the civic body, the disinformation inundating the public is palpable. Just because one party has the constitutional right to seize power in a situation does not justify the damage it will do to our civic fabric.  The rush to hold Supreme Court hearings at this time, before this particular election is ill-advised and unnecessary.  There is no constitutional requirement for the timing of this process and we urge Senator McConnell and members of the Judiciary Committee to wait until after the election has been certified.

By forcing this nomination through, in this manner, President Trump and Republican leadership are endangering what remains of our civic trust and putting our very democracy at risk instead of doing the right thing, the just thing, of meeting the real needs of our people in these difficult times.

Let’s Go, Homeboys

Let’s Go, Homeboys

Sister Susan Rose Francois
October 6, 2020

Are we not each better than our worst moment?” I have never forgotten that question, ever since I first heard it raised by Fr. Gregory Boyle during a presentation at the LA Religious Education Congress more than a decade ago. It was such a countercultural question, centered on goodness, compassion, human dignity and the power of redemption. I have returned to that question at times when I have not been my best self. It has helped me pick myself up, dust off the cobwebs and start again. I have returned to that question when I’ve accompanied others. It is a question that leads to community and future possibility.

Flash forward to this week’s Nuns on the Bus virtual site visit with Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California. The goodness of the men gathered on the call for a conversation with Sr. Simone Campbell — Father Greg, Miguel and Franky — jumped off the screen. I found myself leaning into the screen and smiling, even as they shared stories of their own struggles. Miguel and Frank, both formerly incarcerated gang members, exuded care, compassion, love, and a desire to build community.

“I love life,” said Miguel. “I am living life to the fullest.” His eyes lit up as he told Sister Simone about being part of the Homeboys’ response to address food insecurity caused by the pandemic. Homeboy Industries has pivoted their operations and is now providing 10,000 meals each week to seniors and people experiencing homelessness. “It feels so good to be giving back to the community after taking so much,” said Miguel.

Franky talked about the transformative power of community. “The energy you see and feel here helps me to get where I want to be,” he said. Franky is working to get out the vote this election season, making sure that the formerly incarcerated know how to exercise their voting rights. He knows first-hand that voting matters because his own sentence was reduced due to California Proposition 57, passed by the voters in 2016, which authorized sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior and education.

My mother spent many years working with incarcerated men and women, helping them to develop decision making skills and prepare for life after their release. I couldn’t help but think about my Mom as I listened to Miguel and Franky describe the power of community. “What I needed,” said Miguel, “was for my community to be able to hold me.” They both talked about what it meant to them when Father Greg remembered them, knew their name, and showed that he cared. “It’s kind of a thrill to be valued and cherished,” said Father Greg. “It’s the thing that motivates.”

Father Greg said that he hopes we all have 2020 vision now. “I am both hopeful and optimistic at the same time,” he said. Listening to Miguel and Franky, I am not surprised he feels this way.

My virtual site visit to Homeboy Industries was motivating and energizing. It reminded me that what really matters is being a community of support, in our own circles and beyond, in good times and in bad. Whether it’s bringing food to the hungry, encouraging their peers to vote or reconnecting with local communities and families in positive and life-giving ways, these men are witnesses to the power of community. Violence and fear will not have the last say. May love, not fear, go viral. Amen.

Virtual site visit to Homeboy Industries, picturing, top right, Sr. Simone Campbell of Network; top left, Franky Reyes; and bottom, Miguel (Susan Francois screenshot)

Virtual site visit to Homeboy Industries, picturing, top right, Sr. Simone Campbell of
Network; top left, Franky Reyes; and bottom, Miguel (Susan Francois screenshot)

 

[Susan Rose Francois is a member of the Congregation Leadership Team for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. She was a Bernardin scholar at Catholic Theological Union and has ministered as a justice educator and advocate. Read more of her work on her blog, At the Corner of Susan and St. Joseph or in GSR’s Horizons columns.]

This blog was originally published on Global Sisters Report.

Nuns on the Bus 2020 Tells Stories of St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center and Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP

Nuns on the Bus 2020 Tells Stories of St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center and Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP

Adrian Dominican Sisters
October 12, 2020

In the weeks before the November 3 national election, two stories related to the Adrian Dominican Sisters are among hundreds that are told by Nuns on the Bus 2020. Among the Nuns on the Bus is Adrian Dominican Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP, United Nations Representative for the Dominican Sisters Conference. In addition, the story of St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center – founded in 2002 by Sisters Carol Weber OP, and Judy Blake, CSJ – was told on September 29, 2020, during a virtual tour by Nuns on the Bus.

Sponsored by NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Nuns on the Bus explores election-year social justice issues through site visits to social service and community agencies, town hall meetings, dialogues, state voting information, and short videos featuring “nuns on the bus” who are involved in social service and social justice issues.

In her video, Sister Durstyne speaks of her ministry at the United Nations and of her special concerns for the issues of equality for women, immigration, nuclear weapons, and climate change. She encourages voters to “make this election count” and to vote for candidates who will move the world forward.

During her visit to St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center, Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Director of NETWORK, interviewed Sisters Carol and Judy, as well as staff members Tiffany and Christine, who had participated in the Center’s programs.

Sister Judy explained the unique origin of the Center: a recurring dream that she experienced during a 30-day retreat. In response, Sisters Judy and Carol began a street ministry to the people of Flint.

The Center occupies a former grammar school owned by St. Luke Parish. Programs include a Wednesday women’s group; a food pantry; a hot meal program; a literacy center, which offers both adult literacy training and preparation for GED; an employment preparation program for men and women; and social enterprises, such as commercial sewing and lawn care, which enable graduates to further develop their skills and work ethic.

Sisters Judy and Carol told Sister Simone that, because of the pandemic, many of the Center’s programs have had to be adapted. Learners and tutors in the literacy program still work one-on-one, Sister Carol said, but now they meet via Zoom.

The Commercial Sewing Enterprise – which once produced items such as medical scrubs, lab coats, designer aprons, and stadium blankets – now focuses entirely on masks, Sister Carol said. To date, women in Commercial Sewing have made more than 13,000 masks. “We really try to help our community mask up,” she explained. “The ZIP code we’re in is one of the highest in Flint for COVID.”

While Sisters Carol and Judy spoke of the history and programs of the N.E.W. Life Center, Tiffany and Christine told their own stories: the impact that the Center has had on their lives.

Tiffany recalled discovering the Center while she was in the midst of depression, “on the verge of giving up.” Suffering from a back problem and unable to work, she heard about the food drive at the Center and brought some food from her own pantry. Immediately upon walking into the Center, she said, she felt love. “I felt like I’d been around there forever,” she said. She was invited immediately to the women’s Wednesday group, became involved in GED, and participated in the employment training class.

“Right now, I pretty much run the donations department and I love the community,” Tiffany said. “They helped me get out of that dark place. I’m just the giving-est girl now. I didn’t know I was that kind.”

Christine had always loved helping people and hoped to start a homeless shelter. She moved from Flint to Georgia but returned home when her grandmother – now doing well – was diagnosed with cancer. She came to the Center at the suggestion of her sister, who told her of the employment program. “Coming here, it just opened up so many doors,” she said. “Everybody was so nice…. I can actually live my life now. All of these wonderful, beautiful people are behind me.”

Both Tiffany and Christine are enthusiastic about continuing their work with the Center and helping with proposed programs, such as outreach to women suffering from abuse. “I’m looking forward to expanding this program, continuing this vision,” Tiffany said. “I would love to stay on board.”

Christine also expressed her joy at continue to work at St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center. “I look forward to working here,” she said. “I like helping people, seeing people with a smile on their face.”

Article originally published on the Adrian Dominican Sisters website.

NETWORK Letter Urges “NO” Vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett

NETWORK Letter Urges “NO” Vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Sister Quincy Howard, OP
October 9, 2020

NETWORK Lobby’s Government Relations team sent the following letter to  Senate Judiciary Committee staffers as they begin hearings on Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination. NETWORK opposes the nomination because of both Judge Barrett’s judicial record and the rushed timing before the November 3rd election.

Read the letter below:

“Dear Senator:

We write today on behalf of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice (“NETWORK”) and our 90,000 supporters living throughout the United States to express strong opposition to the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. NETWORK educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation and has a 49-year record of accomplishment lobbying for critical federal programs that prioritize the common good and support those at the economic margins. Inspired by our founding Catholic Sisters and the leadership of the women who followed, we faithfully embody Gospel justice as we work for change. We believe that the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett would not be in the interest of the common good. Moreover, pursuing a rushed confirmation process at this particular time in our nation is misguided and recklessly undermines trust in our democratic institutions.

Assessment of Judge Amy Coney Barret

Judge Barrett is being touted as a “pro-life” nomination due to her commitment to overturning Roe vs. Wade. Yet Catholic Social Teaching has upheld the sacredness of all life, from conception to death, and Pope Francis has made clear that abortion is not the only issue that matters. Equally sacred are those already born, including the sick, disabled, and elderly; people and families on the economic margins; migrants and refugees; and those oppressed by racial and other forms of discrimination. Judge Barrett’s rulings and public statements have shown that she does not hold all life sacred.

Sick, Disabled, and Elderly: We hold equally sacred the lives of those who are vulnerable due to impaired health, many of whom do not have adequate access to health care. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, Judge Barrett is expected to be the deciding vote to strike down the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, depriving millions of people of their access to health care during a global pandemic that has killed 210,000 Americans. The ACA provides critical health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions and disabilities, ensures that young people under 26 can remain on their parents’ health insurance, removes caps on expensive medical treatments, and covers millions of Americans through Medicaid expansion. Yet Judge Barrett’s writings have indicated that she opposes the ACA. In 2017, she implied that the law was unconstitutional. She also signed a 2012 petition objecting to employer health plans including contraception coverage.

Economic Justice: Equally sacred are the lives of those living on the margins struggling to survive against economic injustice. This global pandemic has left millions of people without jobs, food security, housing, and childcare. Our most essential workers – many of whom are low-wage earners – have had to choose between their jobs and their health and safety. We need a Justice who will uphold worker protections, consumer safety, and protect the social safety net. Judge Barrett has instead stood with corporate interests, ruling that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not protect job applicants from policies that discriminate based on age and against a plaintiff who sought written verification of a debt she was said to have owed.

Migrants and Refugees: Catholic social teaching affirms the rights of all peoples to seek the best lives for themselves, and equally sacred are the lives of migrants and refugees who have endured immoral and cruel assaults on their humanity through the prohibition of asylum claims, separation of families, and forced hysterectomies. Judge Barrett has made her hostility toward immigrants evident in a number of cases that have come before her. In two separate instances, she sided with the Board of Immigration Appeals to deny asylum to Salvadorans under the Convention Against Torture and cast the deciding vote deporting a Mexican immigrant who had been a lawful permanent resident without having the opportunity to argue against his deportation in court. She dissented in Cook County v. Wolf, which temporarily barred the implementation of the public charge rule, supporting the administration’s interpretation of the law.

Racial and LGBTQ Discrimination: Equally sacred are the rights of all people to live their lives free from oppression in all forms. Following months of high-profile shootings of African Americans and subsequent national demonstrations concerning racial injustices, the United States can ill afford a Supreme Court Justice with a record of upholding discriminatory practices. In EEOC v. AutoZone, Barrett ruled against an African-American worker whose company assigned employees to certain stores based on their race, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. She has also stated her opposition to federal law protecting LGBTQ marriage and including Transgender people as protected under Title IX.

For these reasons, we do not support the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court Justice. Justices are appointed for life and their decisions reverberate for generations.

Assessment of the Nomination Process

Aside from the merits of the nominee, NETWORK also strongly opposes a hasty confirmation process so close to a national election in which many Americans will have already cast their ballot. The timing disregards the voice of the electorate and undermines trust in our democratic institutions, which is already fragile. We are a nation traumatized by deep divisions, suffering and economic pain; the unnecessary coronavirus death toll of more than 200,000 people is one such example of this national trauma. There is a real cost to the public perception of a Congress and a president focused on expediting a Supreme Court nominee while failing to attend to the protracted national suffering.

During this fragile time in our nation, it is vital that our national leaders act with prudence rather than political posturing. Our democratic institutions are maintained by norms as much as strict law and order. There is no precedent for allowing a president to have such extraordinary influence over the outcome of an election, which he is already threatening to contest. The one at risk of facing judgment ought not to choose the judges.

A fast-tracked confirmation process of Judge Barrett is a clear abdication of the Senate’s constitutional advise-and-consent function. It jeopardizes the rights and lives of the most vulnerable among us and it undermines the integrity of our most basic democratic norms and institutions. For all of these reasons, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice urges you as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against the rushed nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

You may also read a copy of NETWORK’s letter here.

Bus Blog: The Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa

Bus Blog: The Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa

Caraline Feairheller 
October 01, 2020

On Wednesday September 30, the Nuns on the Bus virtually visited the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa. The Center for Worker Justice (CWJ) was founded to unite low-wage workers in Eastern Iowa across race and immigration statute to achieve social and economic justice through education, direct services and community alliance. The CWJ prioritizes defending worker’s rights, improving housing options for low-income residents, and providing assistance to those affected by immigration policies.

During the virtual conversation, Sister Simone Campbell was joined by the Interim Executive Director Mazahir Salih, the CWJ President Marcela Hurtado, the CWJ Vice President Kamel Elgiseer, the CWJ Leader Bijou Maliabo, the CWJ Leader and Board Member Margarita Baltazar and community organizer Mayra Hernandez.

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Since its founding in 2012, the CWJ has had several campaign victories such as establishing the first Midwestern Community ID program for Johnson County. Community IDs are important as they allow for people to access library cards, open bank accounts, acquire medication, and create a sense of belonging.

The CWJ also works to raise the minimum wage. Mazahir Salih shared her story saying, “When I came to this country back in 1997, I worked as a cashier at McDonald’s and they paid me minimum wage which was $5.25. In 23 years, the federal minimum wage has only risen $2.” In order to combat this injustice, the CWJ organized that the county level to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. However, the state of Iowa argued that individual counties could not raise their own minimum wage, so the CWJ created and tracks local businesses that have committed to a $10.10 wage.

Beyond organizing, the CWJ also focuses on education. As CWJ President Marcela Hurtado said “we want to educate the community to know their rights!” as well as “educate our white neighbors, who may think we [immigrants] are all the same.” The immigrant experience is broad and those who are most vulnerable are those who do not have access to government resources and language accessible resources. However, as the virtual conversation demonstrated, the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa is about meeting the needs of the people and if there is a need they will respond.

Watch the Nuns on the Bus site visit to The Center for Workers Justice of Eastern Iowa to learn more. Watch on Facebook or YouTube.

Spirit-filled voters gather in Detroit

Spirit-filled voters gather in Detroit

Sister Jan Kilian
October 1, 2020

“I think I can! I think I can!” said the little train chugging up the mountain; so says this big bus virtually zooming across the United States.

With Sr. Simone Campbell at the wheel, the Network bus made it to the Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive, or CLASA, at the University of Detroit Mercy on Oct. 1. We were co-hosted by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Gail Presbey from CLASA described the archived stories of immigrants struggling for ways to make a livelihood in their new land. The stories we continue to hear of racial and gender discrimination, poverty, disenfranchisement, nonacceptance into community, impairment of the right to vote, struggles to welcome the stranger — all are archived even as they continue today. Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Elizabeth Walters and Barb Beasley described their work with yearlong education and action networks to prepare for the upcoming election.

We spent a few moments breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly in prayer, led by Barb Beasley.

We share the air on Earth. We breathed this shared air into our lungs during prayer. All together, we breathed this air out of our lungs. We live in and walk through air we share, every living being on Earth; we are united as one in the very breath we share. We are all in this together.

Voting is a communal action and a moral imperative. As the discussion began, I was reminded of a statement from a previous town hall: “Bad politicians are elected by good citizens who don’t vote.”

Some of the concerns raised by these spirit-filled voters in Detroit included the right to life, climate change, economics, health care, immigration, racism and getting out the vote. Sister Simone spoke of her new book, Hunger for Hope, which is available through Network. We must bring moral vision to all issues of public life.

[Sr. Jan Kilian is a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota. She has an academic background in hospital medical records, human development, and spiritual direction.]

This blog was originally published on Global Sisters Report.