Category Archives: Front Page

The McGrath Family’s Medicaid Story

Healthcare: The McGrath Family’s Story

NETWORK members Joe and Rita McGrath of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania know firsthand why Medicaid is important. It has been critical in keeping their daughter alive and the family from bankruptcy. When preparing for the arrival of their first child, Joe and Rita received the news their daughter would be born with Down syndrome. Some people asked Joe and Rita if they were going to terminate the pregnancy, but for the McGraths, it was never a question. The first few months of Maura’s life were difficult, but the McGraths pushed through the dark days with the support of friends and family.  A little more than a year later Joe and Rita welcomed their second daughter, Michelle.

Now 17 years old, Maura continues to be the blessing her parents have always known her to be. In addition to Down syndrome, Maura is also nonverbal and has been diagnosed with autism and behavioral issues. As a minor living with disabilities, Maura qualifies for Medicaid benefits. Even though Joe and Rita both work, the cost of Maura’s healthcare is too expensive for their family to afford on their own.

An integral part of Maura’s wellbeing is the care Maura receives from her home health aide, Williamina. Taking care of Maura is a full time job and looking after her became more difficult for her mother, Rita, after she fought cancer. Additionally, Joe has Parkinson’s disease. Medicaid provided the necessary funds for the McGraths to hire assistance, and in the past seven years Williamina has become like a family member.

In addition to a home health aide, Maura needs eight different medications, medical equipment and supplies, and frequent doctor appointments. Medicaid covers these costs. Without Medicaid the McGrath family would be in financial ruin. The cost of Maura’s medicine alone would be several hundred dollars every month. These are expenses the McGraths, and many families in similar situations, would be unable to afford without the help of Medicaid.

Joe and Rita have experienced the life-changing impact of affordable healthcare, and there are millions of families like the McGraths that need Medicaid. Each of these human lives is more valuable than cutting costs or turning a profit. We are one another’s keeper and the care Medicaid recipients are entitled to is our shared responsibility.

On March 24, 2017, during debate over the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in the House of Representatives, Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA-13) shared Maura McGrath’s story on the House floor and urged his fellow members to vote no on the AHCA.

Time for Moral Leadership on the Federal Budget

NETWORK Lobby’s Federal Budget Priorities

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NETWORK believes the federal budget is a moral document that reflects the priorities of our nation. Our budget must prioritize human needs programs, ensure funding to care for vulnerable members of our society, restore economic opportunity, and invest in community.  The challenges facing our nation and our world are serious and require a serious response from government.

The Budget Reality

Since 2010, powerful forces have converged to use the federal budget as a vehicle to lower the federal deficit by cutting social spending. These cuts are drastic and destructive, and they undermine programs that provide critical assistance to our nation’s most vulnerable. Meanwhile, tax breaks for wealthy corporations and outsized military spending, which cost billions of dollars, have been expanded.

From FY 2010 through 2016, funding declined for large numbers of human needs programs. FY 2017 funding was the seventh straight year of austerity for human needs programs, driven by the multi-year caps from the 2011 Budget Control Act and further reduced by additional budget cuts. In 2018, human needs funding is set to fall by $3 billion if Congress does not take action to stop the cuts.

Our Values:
  • The budget is a moral document.
  • Catholic Social Justice teaches us to uphold the dignity of each person as an equally valuable member of the human family.
  • As people of faith, we must be in solidarity with those who are living in poverty in the struggle against structures of injustice.

Federal Policies Must Mend Gaps, Not Widen Them

Elected officials must make budget decisions that promote the common good. This requires adequately funding programs benefiting vulnerable people while rejecting superfluous spending.  Investment in human needs programs will create stronger, safer, and healthier communities and promote the common good. Increasing funds for immigration enforcement and borders will not increase our security and must be rejected.

For FY 2018, NETWORK’s priorities are funding for the Census and Housing. We reject additional funding requests that would further militarize our border and harm immigrants in our communities.

Learn about funding in the Federal Budget for: Census, Housing, and Homeland Security.

We Come Alive Together

We Come Alive Together

Simone Campbell, SSS
April 27, 2017

As I write this, a few weeks ago Speaker Paul Ryan stated with righteous indignation that “well people shouldn’t have to pay for sick people.” This is one of his “principles” as he works to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I found this shocking because the whole principle of insurance is that you pay into it so that when you need to use it you can. Some have lower costs and some have higher costs, but all get the care they need when they need it. Costs average out over time. That is the whole theory of insurance and I thought Speaker Ryan would understand this “business model”. But apparently he does not.

The longer I pondered this misunderstanding of how insurance works, I came to see that there is even a deeper blindness. In the Republican commitment to individualism, they have lost sight of community and the common good. The biggest problem with the Republican effort at healthcare legislation is that it lacks the awareness that it is community which makes healthcare effective. It is not just about the individual. Healthcare is a communal good. This is why Pope Francis and his predecessors have clearly stated that healthcare is a human right.

Our nation’s hyper individualism is sucking the life out of our nation. Just focusing on myself is contrary to my Catholic faith and contrary to our Constitution. As I was pondering the Lenten readings, I was struck that all of the scriptures involve some aspect of community. No one is acting alone. This led me to an insight about Speaker Ryan’s flawed faith analysis.

The gospel reading on the second Sunday of Lent was the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus before the apostles. I love this story! Simon Peter both gets it wrong and gets it right. First, the truth of Jesus and the presence of Moses and Elijah are revealed to this small community. Peter and presumably the others are awed and surprised. Peter in his enthusiasm blurts out how good it is to be there and offers to “build a tent” as an altar for the three. But a bright cloud surrounds them and a voice says “This is my beloved…listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5) After a bit, Jesus helps the apostles stand up and tells them not to be afraid.

Reflecting on this scripture led me to know that we are called to see Jesus and the elders transfigured in our midst. In community we see the dazzling truth of the Divine’s presence and are urged to act. It made me think of our bus stop this past summer at Integrity House in Newark, New Jersey. It is a therapeutic community for people with substance use disorders. With guided interventions, staff and residents work together toward sobriety. We met with about 25 of their community members and heard about their struggles and hopes. Many residents previously had brushes with the law and had done jail time. They discovered that they could not do this work alone. Only in community could they be transformed. One woman said “It takes so much to fight addiction and depression! I can’t get rid of my demons by myself. I have to do my part, but alone I’m not enough.” She said by working in this community, however, she and others are being transformed.

While this was one woman’s story, I think it is also the story of our society that Speaker Ryan missed. It is not effective for us to be alone in our caring for our families, ourselves, or our communities. We are not made to be isolated. In fact, there is a lot of evidence that when I feel alone is when fear and division rise. We can only be “transfigured” in a group. Together we can be made new. This is the basis for sound, inclusive healthcare policy.

Let us remind our elected officials that we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers. If we embrace this truth and act in community, then we will have a healthcare system that works for all of us, not just the wealthy. Then we will be the people that we aspire to be—transformed and alive.

Originally published in Connection Magazine. Read the full issue here.

Michigan Advocates Lobby

NETWORK Advocates Lobby on Mending the Gaps in Michigan

Meg Olson
April 26, 2017

On Thursday, April 13, 2017, members of the East Lansing Catholic Network, one of NETWORK’s advocates teams, Ed Welch, Joe Garcia, Pat Hepp, and Sandy Maxim met with Representative Mike Bishop (MI-08) at his Brighton, Michigan office.

The focus of the meeting was immigration. Ed, Joe, Pat, and Sandy requested Representative Bishop’s support for a pathway to citizenship and his help in protecting Dreamers from deportation. During the meeting, Representative Bishop acknowledged to the NETWORK advocates that the immigration system is “upside-down,” but stated that immigration will probably not be addressed in the near future because of other pressing issues in Washington, D.C.. Next, the advocates asked Representative Bishop to refuse funding a border wall in upcoming budget legislation.

As a NETWORK advocates team, the East Lansing Catholic Network has met with Congressman Bishop and his staff several times about issues such as the EITC and Child Nutrition Reauthorization. While the Congressman doesn’t always share NETWORK’s vision on how to mend the gaps, the team members continue to build a relationship with him and hold him accountable for his actions in Washington D.C.

Blog: Secrecy Threatens Chance for Tax Justice

Secrecy Threatens Chance for Tax Justice

Colleen Ross
April 13, 2017

President Trump and Republican Congressional leadership have given themselves an August deadline to pass tax reform legislation. As that debate nears, it is unconscionable that President Trump continues to refuse to release his tax returns. We cannot have our elected officials passing laws that may personally enrich themselves or serve foreign interests without disclosing that information to the public.

We at NETWORK often say “the budget is a moral document” to advocate for funding federal programs that provide for the common good and work to mend the gaps. The reverse, however, is also true. The way we fund the budget, our tax code, is a moral declaration.

The tax code demonstrates what sources we decide to collect revenue from and their rates, as well as what escapes taxation. For an in-depth look at the individual, corporate, and other taxes used to raise revenue, read NETWORK’s guide “We the Taxpayers.” We cannot fund responsible programs – such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) – without reasonable revenue, and equally important, that revenue must be raised through tax policies that are transparent, fair, and equitable. Ultimately, the tax code must not widen the income or wealth gap in our nation.

Much of our current tax code fails in that regard. Corporate tax loopholes and tax breaks for wealthy individuals have contributed to growing economic inequality in our nation over the years. Today, we are not mending the gaps with a progressive tax code, and signs of future tax reform do not look promising. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “Better Way” plan proposed additional tax cuts that would disproportionally benefit the top 1%, while President Trump’s recently scrapped tax plan would also benefit our country’s highest-income households the most.

We understand that paying taxes supports our national interests and promotes the common good. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” In the past, NETWORK members and friends have boldly proclaimed our Taxpayer Pride for government services ranging from student loans to public transportation.

This year, as we approach Tax Day, we call on President Donald Trump to have Taxpayer Pride and to release his tax returns. We also urge the president and members of Congress to support tax reforms that would ensure large multinational corporations pay their fair share and close loopholes that encourage corporations to shift jobs and profits overseas. It’s time for our nation to get closer, not farther away from Tax Justice!

Sister Simone Campbell will be at the Washington, DC Tax March on Saturday, April 15, 2017 to call on President Trump to release his tax returns. See more details about the DC march, or other local marches here: www.TaxMarch.org

Guest Blog: Hope From the Bottom Up

Guest Blog: Hope From the Bottom Up

Robert Beezat
April 11, 2017

For many of us, the last 12 months have been an unrelenting downer. What started as a quixotic run for the Presidency by Donald Trump turned into a victory. That victory has left many of us bewildered and afraid of what the next few years might bring domestically and internationally.

We have seen attacks on immigrants, attempts to take away health care from millions of people, and the removal of a number of environmental protections to name just a few serious threats to what many of us consider matters of social justice and equity.

What has happened to our country? What will happen to our country over the next few years?

These are important questions. Many of them cannot be answered yet. But amidst this pessimism, there are some signs of hope.

On a national basis, people around the country have become active again in our democratic processes. People showed up at airports to assist citizens and immigrants banned from re-entering or entering our country. A massive number of individuals and groups opposed the attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In both of these matters, the fight for social justice is not over. But elected officials at the national level have taken note of this surge of citizen activism and are reconsidering the policies they propose and support.

Another positive sign of hope is the growing number of people and organizations who are making part of the world a better place from the bottom up.

An example of this is what is going on in the Greater Racine area. Two grassroots groups have sprung up in the last two years to mobilize the community to address a wide range of issues affecting our area. One group is called Visioning a Greater Racine (VGR). The other group is called Greening Greater Racine (GGR).

VGR is conducting community visioning sessions which involve a diverse group of over 1,000 people representing neighborhoods, schools, businesses, not for profits, churches, and local governments, as well as many individuals who want to make a positive difference. Community goals are being defined, priorities are being determined, and programs are being developed.

GGR is bringing together a broad range of organizations which impact the environment of our area. At these meetings, the organizations are learning from each other, coordinating their efforts, and celebrating their successes.

The GGR movement sprung from Racine Green Congregations, an ecumenical group which formed 8 years ago. Green Congregations’ initial purpose was to share ideas and successes in making their own places of worship more energy efficient. Much has been accomplished along those lines.

Then, based on the broader environmental concerns shared by all worship groups in the community, Green Congregations helped lead the formation of the larger Greening Greater Racine movement. The informal mantra of both groups is: Inform…Inspire…Celebrate!

From an information standpoint, we have all been amazed about how many good things are already happening in our community every day. Good people and good organizations are making a positive difference to quality of life from an economic and environmental perspective.

From an inspiration standpoint, it lifts all of our spirits to meet and work with so many people who are already making a positive difference. As we get to know each other better, build trust, and see new possibilities for future accomplishments, we are filled with hope.

From a celebration standpoint, we make it a point to not take for granted the good work that is already being done to make our community a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

One example of this spirit of celebration first happened in the Spring of 2016 and was repeated this Spring. Greening Greater Racine worked with our local community college, Gateway Technical College, to host EcoFest. 60 plus organizations set up informative and interactive displays of their environmental work at the community college. Close to 1,000 people visited EcoFest both years. People were simply amazed regarding the many positive programs that are already going on. Many have been inspired to join these efforts.

I look at the challenges ahead remembering these words from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Let us…exult in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works out endurance, and endurance tried virtue, and tried virtue hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

I also think of the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” We all need to make this period of tribulation an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to pour forth God’s love into our hearts and into our world. And we need to remember that what starts from the bottom up can bring about positive and great change for our communities, our country, and our world.

Robert Beezat is a NETWORK Advocate based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected] or www.robertbeezat.com.

Caring For All of God’s Creation

Caring For All of God’s Creation

By Shantha Ready Alonso
From NETWORK’s Catholic Social Justice Reflection Guide

I find it profound to worship a God who revels in the knowledge that the diversity of creation is very good. Beginning in the book of Genesis, we learn of a Creator who finds joy in difference – distinguishing land from water, forming a variety of plants and creatures, and calling forth humans of different genders, many colors and various creeds.

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis introduces to us the concept of integral ecology, which expands our concept of what is included when we think of “God’s creation.” Creation not only encompasses the natural world, but also everything we co-create with God: built environments, economies, political systems, currencies, cuisines, languages, and music. From an integral ecology perspective, care for God’s creation means caring for the whole inhabited earth, and the cosmos beyond.

As people living in the United States, one way to delve into caring for creation is through our vast system of public lands: national parks, forests, monuments, refuges, sanctuaries and wilderness areas. Together, we the people collectively share responsibility for stewardship of these public lands. Through this system, together we can conserve our spiritual, natural, historical, and cultural heritage.

The heritage preserved in our public lands is something we can all treasure. But, our nation’s racist history of forced removal of people from land, confinement to reservations, segregation, discrimination, and unfair or forced labor practices has left a painful legacy – even in our public lands system. Likewise, our nation’s history of low regard for threatened and endangered species needs to be overcome by greater care. We have work to do to ensure our public lands belong to all of God’s creation.

Recently, the values of cultural and bio-diversity have become more prominent in our public lands and waters system. In the past five years, we have seen more and more monument designations that honor social justice leaders of courage, including the Cesar Chavez National Monument in California, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland, and the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington DC. For the first time in our history, the public lands system has a national monument with a focus on Native American heritage: Bears Ears National Monument. This 1.35 acres of land in Utah is sacred to multiple tribes, and through this monument, we can all benefit from the wisdom of the tribes that claim Bears Ears as their ancestral land.

Our public lands and waters tell our stories and shape our collective memory. They are places where we learn, play, and pray. We all depend on the integrity of God’s creation, which brings us together. All of us want clean air, water, and land for ourselves and our families. May we treasure the earth and these places of beauty that reveal the wonders of our Creator. In reflecting on the importance and sacredness of the earth, may we understand that it is a lens for us to see our interconnectedness and to celebrate our diversity.

Shantha Ready Alonso is the Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries, which represents the creation care and environmental justice policies of major Christian denominations throughout the United States. Read more about their work at http://www.creationjustice.org.

View the full Catholic Social Justice Reflection guide here.

View the Lent Calendar to take action on healthcare here.

Called to Defend the Rights of Workers

Called to Defend the Rights of Workers

By Joseph Geevarghese
From NETWORK’s Catholic Social Justice Reflection Guide

Every day, Charles Gladden wakes up and goes to work at the US Capitol. As a cook and cleaner at the Senate, Charles serves some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in our nation. But every night, Charles goes to sleep outside a metro station just a few blocks from the White House. Even though Charles worked full-time, he was homeless.

Charles is just one of millions of low-wage federal contract workers who earn so little that they cannot live in dignity. In fact, the U.S. Government is America’s leading low-wage job creator, using our tax dollars to fund more poverty jobs than Wal-Mart and McDonalds combined.

This means that we the people – as taxpayers and citizens – are complicit in creating an economy that keeps Charles and other workers struggling to survive. But it also means that we have the power to stand-up and transform a broken system.

Charles is already taking action alongside other low-wage federal contract workers. Over the past four years, thousands of these workers – supported by Sr. Simone and other faith leaders – walked off their jobs 20 times to help 20 million contract workers win higher wages, protection against wage theft and other labor abuses, and paid leave benefits through Presidential action.

However, these gains are now at risk of being lost. Like our Latino and Muslim brothers and sisters, the rights of workers are under attack.

Catholic social teaching calls us to stand in solidarity with workers to transform unjust political and economic systems that put people last. We are called to defend the right of workers who are organizing to create a better life for themselves and their families. We are called to safeguard the right of workers to enjoy the fruits of their labor. And, importantly, we are called to unite with workers like Charles to hold our elected officials accountable to end our government-sponsored low-wage economy.

Joseph Geevarghese is the Director of Good Jobs Nation, an organization of low-wage federal contractors organizing for living wages and union rights. Read more at: http://goodjobsnation.org.

View the full Catholic Social Justice Reflection guide here.

View the Lent Calendar to take action on healthcare here.

Is Your Feminism Intersectional?

Is Your Feminism Intersectional?

Catherine G.
March 30, 2017

I am a Black woman. Despite the marriage of these two identities, my Blackness tends to always feel divorced from the latter. Separate and not equal. Not equal because while there are shared struggles specific to the woman experience, not all women are valued or discriminated against equally and liberation for black and brown women is merely an afterthought, if even thought of at all. Separate because being Black in America affords me with a set of unique experiences that can only be comprehended by people who share that identity with me.  And, it is precisely this distinction that creates a tension between my two identities.

In our history, the majority of women showed up almost exclusively for white women’s causes. Not all women could vote in 1920 after the 19th Amendment was passed, yet that year is taught in high school history courses.  Enraged protests against the $0.77 women earn to every $1.00 a white male makes ignore the fact that for a Black woman it’s $0.60.  Thousands of women rushed to Susan B. Anthony’s grave after the 2016 Election with their “I voted” stickers.  While Susan B. Anthony fought tirelessly for women’s right to vote neither my personhood, nor the personhood of my ancestors were included in her fight.  Anthony once said, “I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.”  And still we, as Black women, are expected to learn the history of Susan B. Anthony before Ida B. Wells or Sojourner Truth.

For me, intersectionality means acknowledging that there are varying components that shape our womanhood. I do not support any kind of feminism that functions on the institution of Whiteness or unearned privilege. Instead, I support feminism that is intersectional at every level. This Women’s History Month, I vowed to listen and seek out women’s voices that are not always brought to the forefront or celebrated. Women like Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Malala Yousafzai, and Janet Mock who have devoted their lives to effecting change for all.  I vow to continue this effort and hope that all proclaimed feminists will follow suit.  Because as Audre Lorde pointed out, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Understanding That We Are All Connected

Understanding That We Are All Connected

By Sister Nancy Sylvester, IHM
From NETWORK’s Catholic Social Justice Reflection Guide

One of the principles of Catholic Social Justice Teaching is needed more than ever today. It is that of the Common Good. We, as a nation, have lost our sense of responsibility as citizens to address the needs of the whole community and seem to only advocate for those policies which affect me and my group. As we move further and further away from each other and self-identify with specific groups, it becomes harder to address what we need as a people, as a nation, to realize our full potential as children of God.

When I was at NETWORK, I heard Congresspersons talk about the common good. Today, it is rare if anyone raises it up. Yet, for me it is growing in importance as we navigate an increasingly complex political terrain that has become mean spirited and divisively partisan. We have forgotten that governments play an important role in our lives. Catholic Social Justice Teaching reminds us of this when in the encyclical Pacem in Terris, Pope John the XXIII wrote that “the attainment of the common good is the sole reason for the existence of civil authorities.”  Every society needs a body who will promote the good of each of us and has the authority and capacity to step back and address the good of the whole.

In Catholic Social Justice Teaching, to promote the common good is to create the conditions for every person to realize their full potential as children of God. To do that is to safeguard and foster the various rights first stated in Pacem in Terris. These rights include: life, the right to bodily integrity and the means necessary for its proper development – food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest and social services; freedom to worship; to work; to form associations; to immigrate and emigrate; and to take an active role in public life.

This understanding of the common good, safeguarding what we need to flourish as full human beings, reflects the scriptural image that we are all parts of one body and each is needed for the whole to function and be healthy. We are the Body of Christ and we find our fulfillment in relationship with each other.

Our society is far from embracing such a teaching, yet I believe it is critical for our future. It is understanding that we are all connected and all share the same Earth-home that will enable us to relinquish group agendas for the common good so that we can move forward together as a nation.

My work for justice and systemic change has evolved over these past years to address the transformation of consciousness. I believe that contemplation—individually and communally—is transformative. Becoming more attuned to God working within you frees you to see your biases, your assumptions, your world view. You awaken to the fears you have of those who are not like yourself; you begin to stop reacting to people and ideas and begin to respond.

It is with this self-awareness rooted in our deep center where the Divine dwells that will free us to create a space to meet those with whom we differ. We need to talk to each other and to those whom we elect about the values and vision we have as a people, a nation, a planetary community. We need to come to understand that we are all sisters and brothers; we are all connected, sentient and non-sentient beings. If we grasp that and respect each other, then the possibility exists that over time we can imagine a new way forward where the common good is addressed in mutually enhancing ways.

Nancy Sylvester, IHM, is founder and director of the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue (ICCD) since 2002. She served in leadership of her own religious community, the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, MI. www.ihmsisters.org as well as in the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Prior to that she was National Coordinator of NETWORK, the National Catholic Social Justice Lobby. A new free resource that is related to this topic can be found at www.iccdinstitute.org  click on “Finding Our Balance Post Election.”

View the full Catholic Social Justice Reflection guide here.

View the Lent Calendar to take action on healthcare here.