Category Archives: Racism

African American male holding right fist in the air and protest sign in front of U.S. Supreme Court Building

Erasing the Black Vote

Erasing the Black Vote

From the Supreme Court and Congress to State Legislatures, the Right to Vote is Consistently Under Attack

Min. Christian S. Watkins
May 15, 2026

 

My grandmother had to pay poll taxes after she was granted the right to vote. My mother was a Black Panther and community organizer, who still remembers drinking from separate water fountains while fighting for voting rights. They both taught me that voting is sacred. Not because it is somehow a magical fix, but because it is powerful to participate in our own liberation. It is one of the few tools Black communities have held that those in power have consistently tried to limit. 

Every generation has faced new strategies designed to narrow participation while preserving the appearance of fairness, and this is our time to live into that rich legacy of overcoming. 

In 2026, those strategies continue with renewed force. With the April 29 Louisiana v. Callais decision, the Supreme Court has further weakened key protections of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for state legislatures to redraw districts in ways that decimates Black political power and the influence of other communities of color, which they have begun to do with ruthless ferocity.

 

African American male holding right fist in the air and protest sign in front of U.S. Supreme Court Building

Min. Christian S. Watkins at the “Protect Birthright Citizenship” protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C.

 

This devastating blow and its fallout, which threatens to wipe out Black representation in Congress and state houses, especially in the South, are only part of the picture. At the same time, Congress has failed to restore protections, even as restrictive voting laws spread across the country. New federal and state-level proposals raise additional concerns. 

Efforts to create national “verified voter” systems or impose stricter documentation requirements for registration are framed as security measures. In practice, these “show your papers” policies risk excluding those least likely to have ready access to passports or birth certificates: disproportionately Black, Brown, low-income, and naturalized citizens. These policies—as well as the disastrous Supreme Court decision—do not exist in a vacuum. They reflect longstanding patterns of exclusion dressed in new language. 

Voting alone will not solve every injustice, but without it, the communities most affected by injustice are pushed even further from the decisions that shape their lives. 

So, the task before us is clear. We must prepare, participate, and protect the vote: 

  • Check and update your voter registration early and help others do the same. 
  • Make a concrete plan to vote—early is preferable, but safely by mail or on Election Day if necessary. 
  • Follow all instructions carefully if voting by mail and return ballots promptly. 
  • Learn your rights and share voter protection resources within your community. 
  • Support election integrity by volunteering as a poll worker or nonpartisan monitor. 

These actions are practical, but they are also moral. Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that participation in public life is a form of charity because it shapes the conditions in which people either flourish or struggle. When access to the ballot is restricted, it is not just a procedural issue—it is a wound to human dignity and the common good.

 

Diverse group of faith leaders holding protest signs and in "selfie" style at a protest.

Min. Christian S. Watkins (right) and fellow faith leaders at the “Faithful Resistance” protest in Washington D.C.

Voting is not the whole of democracy, but it is one of its load-bearing walls. Without it, accountability weakens and exclusion deepens. With it, we create the possibility—however imperfect—of a more just and inclusive society. 

In my own work, and in the mission of NETWORK, voting rights remain central because they sit at the intersection of so many struggles—racial justice, economic equity, and the fight against concentrated power. I carry both the weight of history and the hope of my faith: that every person is endowed with dignity and has a rightful voice in shaping our shared future. 

The question before us is not simply whether we will vote. It is whether we will defend the conditions that make voting meaningful for everyone. That work requires persistence, solidarity, and a refusal to accept disenfranchisement as inevitable. 

Min. Christian S. Watkins is NETWORK’s Senior Government Relations Advocate.

Lent’s ‘Crosses of Resistance’ — Voting Rights 

Lent’s ‘Crosses of Resistance’ — Voting Rights

Ash Wednesday is a Call To Resist the Trampling of Voting Rights

Min. Christian S. Watkins
February 18, 2026

 

Lent begins with the smudge of ash on our brows and the whispered truth: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In that stark confession, the Church names both our fragility and our belovedness before God. 

Yet while Christians prepare to walk this 40-day road of repentance and renewal, congressional Republicans are advancing a different kind of mark, one that would brand millions of citizens at the ballot box. Two bills, the Senate’s SAVE America Act (S.3752) and the House’s Make Election Great Again (MEGA) Act (H.R.7300), carry on the egregious legacy of the stalled SAVE Act (H.R.22) and its promotion of a “show your papers” regime.  

These bills force eligible voters to present proof of citizenship in person to register to vote, update their registration, and in some cases even to cast a ballot. This functionally eliminates online and mail-in registration and sabotages voter registration drives.

More info: How the SAVE Act would disenfranchise rural voters (Center for American Progress)

The House’s MEGA Act also piles on restrictive photo ID requirements, bans universal vote-by-mail, and mandates aggressive voter roll purges every 30 days, ending long-standing protections against last-minute disenfranchisement. This would hand the federal government sweeping power to decide which citizens get to participate in our democracy. 

logo for NETWORK's Crosses of Resistance 2026 Lent seriesCatholic Social Teaching names participation in public life, including voting, as a moral duty flowing from the dignity of the human person and our call to the common good. Any law that weaponizes bureaucracy against people in poverty, the young, Black and brown communities, and those without stable housing stands in direct opposition to that duty. 

During Lent, the prophets condemn those “who trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land.” The SAVE 2.0 and MEGA Acts are part of a coordinated effort to trample voting itself. This is not about preventing the rare noncitizen vote; it is about manufacturing distrust so that a shrinking minority can cling to power.

We have seen the Trump administration escalating demands for sensitive voter data—including a push tied to the atrocities carried out in Minnesota—while federal law enforcement has targeted election records in Fulton County, Georgia. 

The Gospel calls us to repent of the country’s long history of racist voter suppression, to organize, accompany, and advocate so that every eligible neighbor can vote without fear or unnecessary obstacle. This is as important as feeding the hungry or visiting the incarcerated person. 

The ballot is not a perk for the well-resourced. It is part of the dignity of the human person in public life – a way for our leaders and policies to represent us. When lawmakers criminalize paperwork mistakes, punish election officials for doing their jobs, and build systems that block working people, elders, students, disabled voters, and low-income families, they are not strengthening democracy. 

As we journey toward Easter, we proclaim a crucified and risen Christ who breaks chains, not ballots; who opens doors, not shutters them; who pours out the Spirit so that every voice can testify. Will we consent to new crosses laid upon the backs of the poor in the voting booth, or will we shoulder the cross of resistance and insist that our laws reflect God’s liberating love? 

Take Action with NETWORK: Help us resist legislation that denies voting rights to all eligible voters. Call your Senators and let them know that these bills must not pass! Call this number:  (202) 915-4877.

Min. Christian S. Watkins is NETWORK’s Senior Government Relations Advocate.

We are rising to the moment

Not on Our Watch, Not in Our Name

Not on Our Watch, Not in Our Name

Resistance and Persistence Build Community as We Search for Hope

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM
November 13, 2025

 

The horrors of this current administration feel like they are coming at us rapid fire. As we at NETWORK have said for months, this is by design — with the hope that we, people united for the common good, lose focus in all of the chaos. They hope that we become burned out by everything that is happening at warp speed and lose steam. And, truth be told, we are tired, but we are not slowing down.

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM joined by Sr. Barbara Batista, SP, Sr. Dani Braught, ASC, and Meg Olson, NETWORK Director of Grassroots Mobilization at the annual August gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Atlanta.

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM joined by Sr. Barbara Batista, SP, Sr. Dani Braught, ASC, and Meg Olson, NETWORK Director of Grassroots Mobilization during the Pilgrimage of Hope at the annual August gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Atlanta. The Pilgrimage of Hope was a one-mile walk through downtown Atlanta prayerfully dedicated to addressing systemic injustice in the areas of racism, migration, and the climate crisis.

Years ago, I heard the phrase that we are called to touch the pain of the world. It felt heavy when I could not respond to all the pain in the world. Now this has taken many different forms, but I truly believe that touching the pain of this country and responding to it is a way that we all can practice accountability in 2025.

We need to know where our community is hurting—be it by an increased military presence patrolling our streets, immigration raids terrifying our neighbors, hospitals closing, or a lack of available food. As we become aware of the pain and devastation in our communities, we must be moved to act. This is our current form of contemplation in action and courageously speaking truth to power.

We are called not only to stand in the chasms—in the wake of raids, slashed funding, and fear—but to respond to it. We are called to be the tangible opposition to these horrors and advocates for a better tomorrow. No matter where we live, our walk of life, or whether we’re college students or senior citizens, we are called to be an active form of resistance against the degradation of our democracy and our communities.

As Bishop Marianne Budde recently wrote: “We can rise to this moment, to do our part to stop those who are determined to dismantle the institutions, destroy the guardrails of our democracy, and accelerate the very trends we need to reverse for the human species to survive.”

We are rising to the moment.

We call our Members of Congress. We send emails. We write letters to the editor. We put up billboards, pass out zines, attend workshops and webinars. We talk to our friends and family. Why? To hold our elected officials accountable and maybe, in some ways, to hold ourselves accountable to planting seeds for the greater good of our country.

Across the country, our Sisters and friends have been holding vigil at immigration detention centers, offering prayers and solidarity to those unjustly detained and their family members. In song and prayer, we line local streets with signs that say things like “Protect Families, Reject Deportation.”

This witness says to the wider community: This cannot happen in our name. We are hosting
letter writing campaigns and call-in days, continually widening the circle by inviting friends, neighbors, family, and community members to participate. Through these invitations, we’ve heard from so many who made their first phone call. And it wasn’t so scary after all!

Through it all, we are rooted in community. Each time we join a vigil, protest, or webinar, we meet new people who share our passion. We build bridges. We resist together. We learn together. We celebrate together.

As Bishop Budde said in the same reflection: “We are the ones who must dare to believe that seeds of new possibilities, invisible to us now, have already been planted in the soil of our lives, and they are slowly taking root. New life will emerge from the ashes of what is lost.”

It might not feel like there is a lot of new life emerging in the here and now. But I see it springing forth from every person crowded around tables folding zines, every street lined with people, every chapel filled with people praying, and every meeting room where people are gathered.

We are part of the movement to create An Economy for All, where all people, no matter their economic status, citizenship status, orientation, or ZIP code, have what they need to thrive.

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM is a Sister of the Humility of Mary and NETWORK’s Grassroots Education and Organizing Coordinator. This “Spirited Sisters” column originally appeared in the Quarter 4 2025 issue of NETWORK’s Connection magazine.

Sr. Thea Bowman in a featured image for Black Catholic History Month

Love With Action: Black Catholic History Month

Love With Action

Black Catholic History Offers Strength and Hope in Our Quest for Justice

Ralph McCloud
November 4, 2025

 

I met Sr. Thea Bowman a couple of times. What is there to say about meeting a living saint? It was an honor? A joy? It strengthened my faith? 

Absolutely! 

Meeting Sr. Thea challenged me in my mission as a baptized believer. Her 1989 address to the U.S. bishops is a landmark event in Black Catholic History in the United States, and I try to revisit it every November, if not more often. 

Sr. Thea Bowman walks past future NETWORK Fellow Ralph McCloud at a gathering of Black Catholics in the 1980s.

I had no idea I was four feet from a future saint. (I’m seated cross-legged in the front row.)

November is Black Catholic History Month, an observance that coincides with the feast of St. Martin de Porres (November 3), and the birthday of St. Augustine (November 13). It begins with All Saints and All Souls Days, which evoke the reverence for ancestors in African history. For us, this cloud of witnesses isn’t merely watching. They inspire us, help us, and hold us accountable. 

Sr. Thea still encourages me with the awareness that, in her words, a Black Catholic brings “my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African-American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility – as gifts to the church.” 

But gifts are not always appreciated or received with grace. She also noted: 

“I see it: Black people within the church—Black priests, sometimes even Black bishops—who are invisible. And when I say that I mean they’re not consulted. They are not included. Sometimes decisions are made that affect the Black community for generations and they’re made in rooms by white people behind closed doors.” 

Today some of the challenges we face go beyond being ignored, to blatant racism brazenly spewed by both political leaders and influencers; the gutting of voting rights and approval of racial profiling by the Supreme Court; the erasure of slavery and Civil Rights from school textbooks; and the Trump administration’s fervent, almost gleeful rush to destroy any program intended to help promote equity and inclusion. 

While the Catholic Church is among those groups that have decried the sin of racism and espoused a belief in dignity and equity for all (documented in a succession of pastoral letters by the bishops through the decades), the practical reality is often different. Racism still has a hold in the church – whether through the actions of individuals and communities or in the words, actions, or omissions of its leaders.  

When Black history and the pain of Black people get buried and watered down, it is to the detriment of all believers. Gloria Purvis expressed this brilliantly in a recent essay: 

“Our Catholic witness in America hangs in the balance. Church leaders can either acknowledge their grave error and work toward genuine reconciliation, or they can continue tacitly sanctifying racist speech and injustice. The choice will help determine whether American Catholicism finally confronts white supremacy or remains captured by the same moral blindness that has corrupted Christian witness in our country since its colonial origins.” 

Living out our faith in the context of an imperfect church—where even the best pastoral letter tend to gather dust on shelves—might require going back to the basics, to something like the Bible, to show the way. Jesus, in his radical example, acclaimed the Good Samaritan and dined with the tax collectors and sex workers. Jesus—God incarnate—didn’t hesitate to cross lines to include those who had long been excluded from full participation in society. 

Today, we have a pope who gets it. With his background that includes Black ancestors in the Caribbean, life among poor people in Peru, and the promotion of women into leadership roles, we could call Leo XIV the “DEI pope.” In his letter, Dilexi Te, Pope Leo calls us to love our marginalized neighbors with action. 

“God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice,” the pope proclaims. 

Applying our mission to our troubled world is a radical choice. And we can all work together to make justice, equity, and the fullness of human dignity come alive in our society. 

Growing up Black and Catholic, my siblings and I took pride in the causes of African-American men and women advancing toward sainthood. But over time, we also wondered: when will they ever move forward on that journey? These causes are now known as “the Holy Seven,” and they include Sister Thea Bowman. 

I believe we can move forward and will make progress in ways both great and small. And it is this progress, guided and cared for by the Holy Spirit, we can find the hope to persist on this long, often difficult journey toward justice. 

 

Ralph McCloudRalph McCloud is NETWORK’s Senior Fellow. He previously served for 16 years as Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

We Must Help Folks to Vote

We Must Help Folks to Vote

National Voter Registration Day Reminds Us That This Land is Our Land

Theresa Lindberg
September 16, 2025
Theresa Lindberg, a 2025 Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK's Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.)

Theresa Lindberg

I love folk music. My love first started in elementary school when my teacher played “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. With his simple melody and distinct tune, Woody galvanized the country with each line. His unifying message resonated with Americans, becoming an anthem for many Americans who felt the government wasn’t representing their interests. 

I think Woody knew something we all struggle to believe now: that we have collective power as people. But billionaires make this hard to believe when they are allowed almost entirely to fund political campaigns. After all, our elected officials are meant to represent us, not the top one percent, right? It’s important to keep this in mind on National Voter Registration Day (September 16).

No matter the amount of money in our bank account, we all value the freedom to choose our elected officials. But some politicians are supporting undemocratic legislation that favors their own interests over those of their constituents. Here’s the issue: our government system has become increasingly unresponsive to the needs of the people to win favor with the top one percent.

With increasing numbers of voter registration forms going missing, lost absentee ballots, and the consideration of restrictive voting bills like the SAVE Act, more marginalized groups, including rural communities, Black and Brown voters, folks with disabilities, and elderly people, are targeted. We all want to live in a world where each of these voices, including our own, is equally valued.

I saw this play out myself last fall when I helped register several hundred people to vote on my campus community here in Milwaukee. I had countless conversations with students and other community members who all said the same thing: registering to vote feels impossible.

And getting to the polls? Even harder. In the case of my friend Grace, we mailed in her request for an absentee ballot three months before the November 5 election and followed up with local election offices, calling the county clerk in both Milwaukee and Appleton.

She never received her ballot. I ended up driving her four hours round-trip so she could vote in person instead. But what would she have done without access to a friend’s car?

Unfortunately, due to the poor organization of absentee ballots and state laws that varied in their restrictions, many eligible voters were prevented from registering and blocked from the polls.

My belief in Catholic Social Justice teaching inspired me to serve as a voting rights advocate last fall. Whether we are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh, people of faith value representative democracy. We know what’s happening is wrong, but together we can protect our right to representation.

I especially like this line in Woody Guthrie’s song, “this land was made for you and me”. Together, we can protect our right to vote! Today, on National Voter Registration Day, let’s remind each other to get registered and to make it to the polls in November. By doing so, we continue to build the beloved community where our shared values are at the center.  

So, this National Voter Registration Day, put on some Woody Guthrie or your favorite folk singer and do your part. Call a friend to catch up and ask if they are registered! Have you changed addresses recently? Check your own status; it might have changed. And don’t forget our power as a collective. After all, this land is your land, and this land is my land. 

Theresa Lindberg is a student at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee and a returning Sr. Carol Coston Fellow in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.). 

Forfeit Not Your Soul

Forfeit Not Your Soul

Authoritarian Takeover of DC is a Crisis for Racial Justice and Democracy

Min. Christian S. Watkins
August 29, 2025

As I stood and bore witness to the Braddock’s Rock unhoused encampment behind the U.S. Institute for Peace of all places, I held a sign that read “What’s This Cost You? Mark 8:36,” referencing Jesus’ question: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Concerned clergy and service provider staff convened on August 14 to assisted unhoused neighbors as they relocated. In doing so, we witnessed the crime of Christ being evicted – a violation of our sacred call to care for all people.

In recent weeks, the poorest residents of the city of Washington, D.C.—the heart of U.S. democracy—are being disappeared from our communities: tents torn down and belongings discarded, communities of resilient survival scattered like dust in the wind.

Clergy and service provider staff gather as the Braddock's Rock unhoused encampment is cleared on Aug. 14.

Min. Christian S. Watkins, (second from left) of the NETWORK Government Relations Team joins other clergy and service provider staff as the Braddock’s Rock homeless encampment is cleared on Aug. 14. The move came as part of President Trump’s militarized takeover of Washington, D.C.

And it didn’t stop there. After President Trump issued the Executive Order, collaborating law enforcement agencies intentionally targeted Black and Brown youth navigating the Metro and traversing D.C.’s streets working to deliver food.

The Trump administration wielded emergency powers to unnecessarily federalize the Metropolitan Police Department, deploying National Guard troops and slowly dismantling our sanctuary protections. They initially targeted our unhoused neighbors but soon expanded their scope to hyper-militarize and surveil Black and Brown youth and communities with merciless force. This naked display of power is sinful. God says, “Woe to those who trample on the poor.” (Amos 5:11) 

With President Trump naming only cities with Black mayors for future militarized takeover, it is clear that this is all a manufactured assault on Black political power – as well as a rehearsal for broader authoritarianism to envelop our country. This would decimate our collective future built on Constitutional aspirations and promises.

This unneeded hyper-militarization of a peaceful city is designed to send an authoritarian message rather than address any legitimate community needs. Rather than nurture democracy and the systemically disenfranchised, this misguided show of force is a distraction, a calculated attempt to shift the nation’s gaze away from far more dire crises:

  • Skyrocketing inflation and the international devaluation of the U.S. dollar, which erodes working families’ purchasing power. 
  • Administration ineptitude and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) failures, which leaves core agencies leaderless and ineffective, costing taxpayers more than the agency ever purported to strive to save. 
  • Cratering political support at home and abroad, as allies question America’s stability and credibility as a world leader, much less a moral authority. 

When leaders are cornered by their own failings, they often reach for the oldest tool in the autocrat’s playbook: stoke fear, unleash the military, and change the subject. This takeover is not happening in a vacuum. It is fueled by a Christian nationalist ideology that seeks to merge political power with a narrow, exclusionary version of Christianity.  

True Christian witness calls us to loving service grounded in humility and justice lending to liberation, not to bless state power when it tramples our neighbors, the people Christ admonished us to protect, serve, and defend and the integrity of the Church. If we do not name and resist it, we risk turning the cross of Christ into a banner for empire. 

As people of faith and moral courage, we MUST resist. 

Catholics and faithful allies committed to the common good know you cannot speak of justice when local police accountability is replaced by federal chains of command that answer political power, not community needs. You cannot claim security while criminalizing poverty and erasing the humanity of the unhoused.  

True justice cannot be militaristic or top down. It must be rooted in restorative, community-based care. The federalized, militarized response fractures trust and undermines local accountability. Faithful communities must speak truth to power.

After the Budget Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Common Home — and How We Respond

After the Budget Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Common Home — and How We Respond

Drake Starling
July 18, 2025

From the coasts of California to the coalfields of Appalachia, from Midwestern farms to Gulf Coast towns, families across the country want the same things: clean air, safe water, a livable planet, and a future full of opportunity. That’s why, in 2022, communities of faith and frontline advocates alike came together to help push the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) across the finish line—bringing with it groundbreaking investments in clean energy, environmental justice, and climate resilience.

But now, much of that progress is on the chopping block. The budget reconciliation bill that just narrowly passed in Congress rolls back key provisions of the IRA, gutting investments in clean energy, rescinding funds for frontline communities, and stalling the just transition we’ve fought for. Why? Because the Republican lawmakers who backed this bill chose to prioritize the profits of fossil fuel executives over the well-being of their constituents. This bill isn’t about fiscal responsibility—it’s about letting polluters off the hook.

In the wake of Congress passing the budget reconciliation bill, we at NETWORK are reflecting on the devastating toll this legislation takes on our environment — and the people and communities who bear the brunt of environmental harm. We know the true cost of this bill: polluted air, unsafe water, and a dangerous step backward in the fight to protect our climate.

A Blow to Clean Energy and Creation Care

The budget reconciliation bill strips away billions in clean energy investments that were once made possible through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. These investments supported wind and solar energy projects, domestic clean manufacturing, and affordable electricity for millions of families. Now, with clean energy tax credits rolled back and critical funding rescinded from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, we face the chilling prospect of stalled innovation and rising energy costs, especially for low-income households.

Clean Water Under Threat

The reconciliation bill also rescinds funds meant to improve water infrastructure and protect communities from toxic pollution. The backers of this bill gutted grants to replace lead pipes, clean up PFAS contamination, and address long-standing water inequities in marginalized communities. This decision endangers public health and disproportionately harms communities of color, Tribal nations, and rural families already facing unsafe drinking water.

Sacrificing Clean Air for Corporate Polluters

Perhaps most abhorrent is the bill’s attack on clean air. The bill’s backers slashed the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and eliminated programs designed to reduce carbon emissions and monitor air pollution near schools and ports. They also weakened enforcement of the methane emissions fee—a critical tool for reducing one of the most potent greenhouse gases—and offered new giveaways to fossil fuel CEOs under the guise of “permitting reform.”

Our Faith Calls Us to Respond

At NETWORK, we believe in a government that protects the dignity of all people and cares for our Common Home. The decisions made in this budget bill are not just policy choices — they are moral choices. Pope Francis was clear: “The climate crisis is not merely an environmental issue; it is a social issue.” But once again, the lawmakers voting for this bill were willing to sacrifice our communities—our health, our economic stability, and our futures—all in the name of profit and corporate greed.

What We’re Doing Now

We’re not standing idly by. In response to this dangerous legislation:

  • We are mobilizing our faith partners to act boldly, including through writing op-eds and letters to the editor and holding district meetings with lawmakers who supported these cuts.
  • We are defending what’s left of the Inflation Reduction Act by lobbying Congress to protect and restore funding for clean energy tax credits, energy efficiency programs, and environmental justice initiatives.
  • We are educating our supporters and all people of goodwill through webinars, briefings, and faith-based materials that explain what’s at stake — and how our Catholic values compel us to act.
  • We are building coalitions with environmental, labor, and faith-based partners to resist further rollbacks and to demand a just transition to a clean energy economy that centers workers and frontline communities.

This moment is difficult, but it is not the end. We are grounded in hope, fueled by faith, and committed to justice. Together, we will continue to advocate for policies that protect creation and promote the dignity of all people.

NETWORK Lobby's blog ends with an image that reads Act Boldly, Act UrgentlyTake Action

Contact your elected officials. Tell them that slashing climate, clean air, and clean water funding is unacceptable. Urge them to reject future rollbacks and to support legislation that heals both people and the planet.

Because justice demands it. And faith compels it.

Present Day Trauma and Old Wounds

Present Day Trauma and Old Wounds

We Need Solidarity Across Communities to Counter the Horrors of the Budget Bill’s Immigration Provisions

Joan F. Neal
June 26, 2025

In responding to the budget reconciliation bill now expected to pass the U.S. Senate this week, NETWORK and Sisters around the country have focused much attention on the calamitous cuts to health care and food programs in the bill, especially as they would go to tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals in the country. This is a worthy focus, given the millions of people whose lives are threatened by this disastrous bill.

Sadly, this is only part of the story. NETWORK has also called attention to the $150 billion this bill allots to terrorizing our communities through scaled up immigrant detention and deportation efforts. The horrific policies and actions under this Administration have drawn much attention in the media.

One recent example is the viral video of Narciso Barranco, a California gardener, being beaten by agents as they arrest him. One of his sons, a Marine who put his life on the line for our country, says he is heartbroken and betrayed. While this violence is happening to specific families, the shockwaves it sends through our communities are palpable. It is also intergenerational. Clearly, we need to realize that no individual, family or community is safe when this level of unchecked militarization descends upon us at such an expanded scale.

For Black people in the U.S., images of masked and armed men snatching people off the streets and disappearing them evoke another horrific chapter in U.S. history, one that is still discernable in the rear-view mirror. Neighbor turned on neighbor along racial lines. There was vigilante justice against the Black community, and, just like today, people were afraid to live their daily lives. The impacts on our communities are comparable in terms of the terror and trauma they spread.

Across the U.S., we should feel real pain watching neighbors, coworkers, friends, and families—including those with legal residency in the U.S.—being hauled away from their homes, workplaces, and loved ones. We need to lean into this empathy and let it draw us into action. Solidarity is our salvation.

We have mustered this widespread solidarity before, the most recent and far-reaching example being the Civil Rights movement, which saw white people—including many Catholic Sisters and clergy—joining protests and marches to decry racial segregation and the denial of civil rights, voting rights, fair housing and more, to Black people – U.S. citizens. The Civil Rights movement is an example of how solidarity across communities can work to counter systemic injustice and lead to societal transformation. This is a lesson we should all remember at this time of turmoil.

So as we act together in resistance to the current push to pass the ‘big, bad’ budget reconciliation bill, we cannot lose sight of the human cost of this terrible, unjust piece of legislation that will provide billions of dollars to continue the violent assaults on immigrants while slashing essential programs for all people across the country who need assistance. Rather, we must once again come together in solidarity so that none of us, no matter who we are, react to the harm of another person without empathy. We must acknowledge that we are all one, human family without exception—as residents of this country, as members of communities, as children of God—and act accordingly.

We shouldn’t need horrors such as these ICE raids or devastating cuts to essential programs to remind us of this oneness, but here we are. Thankfully, protests and other actions in recent weeks have shown encouraging signs that we are still capable of recognizing our shared humanity. Let us pray and act so that these acts of solidarity continue.

Use NETWORK’s Budget Reconciliation Toolkit to take part in our advocacy against this bill.

Lent Week 6: We Aren’t Falling for Division

Lent 2025: Giving Up Billionaires


Welcome to week 6 of our Lenten series, “Giving Up Billionaires,” as we call on Congress to give up billionaires so our communities can have what we need to thrive. Click here for the rest of our Lenten reflections and actions.

We Aren’t Falling for Division

 

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP
April 9, 2025

 

In the U.S., only one percent of the population earns a million dollars or more per year, and there are just 800 billionaires. Yet this small group of the wealthiest individuals has spent millions to persuade everyday Americans to vote in favor of their interests instead of our own. How have they done that? One answer: by stoking racial fear.

In the 1950s and ’60s, some politicians and their ultra-wealthy backers seized on the discomfort of the Civil Rights Movement to stoke racist resentment. They tried to weaken support for a government that works for the people, so they could instead build a government that works only for the ultra-wealthy.

Some lawmakers and their ultra-wealthy backers today still stoke racial fears by scapegoating our neighbors. The ultra-wealthy try to distract us from the economic problems that their wealth-hoarding creates by pointing the finger at immigrants, transgender people, or working people.

We see this in the Trump administration as they spin lies about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to pit white, Black, and Brown workers against each other. And, we see it this week as Republicans in Congress seek $350 billion in the budget reconciliation bill to detain and deport our immigrant neighbors.

Take action
  • Call your House Member at 1-888-897-9753 to ensure that Congress does not pay for more tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and more funding to detain and deport our immigrant neighbors by cutting Medicaid and SNAP in the budget reconciliation bill.
  • Spread the word. Save the image that I’ve placed below to your computer or phone, then share it on social media or email it to friends and family.
  • Write a letter to the editor (LTE) calling Congress to reject the budget proposal. LTEs are one of the most effective advocacy tactics. Please join us TOMORROW, Thursday, April 10 at 7:00 PM Eastern / 4:00 PM Pacific at our LTE training at our LTE workshop to learn some LTE best practices.

Find more LTE and social media guidance in our Lent toolkit.

The result of these divide-and-conquer tactics has been devastating for most of us, no matter our race or gender. As the ultra-wealthy have amassed power, they have weakened regulations that protect us and our communities and let billionaires off the hook from paying their fair share and contributing to the common good.

These lawmakers and their ultra-wealthy backers hope that we will become too divided and distracted to recognize the real culprits. But we aren’t falling for it! We refuse to fear our neighbors or to fall for attempts to divide us. We know the way through this: to come together across our differences and work to build a world that truly works for all of us–not just the ultra-wealthy. We must demand that our elected officials make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share instead of giving them tax breaks and taking away our health care, food, and even our immigrant neighbors, to do it.

TAKE ACTION: Call your House member today at 1-888-897-9753 and tell them to protect SNAP and Medicaid and reject funding for detention and deportation and tax cuts for billionaires in the budget proposal! Then, use our Lent toolkit to write an LTE calling Congress to reject the budget proposal.

NETWORK has more shareable content, sample social media posts, and LTE guidance for you in our Lent Toolkit.

Emily TeKolste, SP, NETWORK bio

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP is NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator. To read more, check out her column in Global Sisters Report, “The existence of billionaires is immoral.”