Category Archives: Spirit Filled Network

A New Social Fabric

A New Social Fabric

We Must Heed the Warning Signs and Save Our Democracy
Mary J. Novak
October 6, 2022

Turbulent times can take a toll on our imagination. As our politics grow ever more volatile and extreme, we interpret events through the lens of our total experience and assume that, sooner or later, events will settle back into our notion of “normal.”

This is a faulty view. If the last several years have taught us anything, it’s that our imaginations are not prepared for what might come next. And as the midterm elections rapidly approach, this warning is especially urgent.

Last January, my faith and public life colleagues in Washington held their annual retreat, and we had the privilege of hearing a presentation by Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow for the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She clarified that, while we in the U.S. often credit ourselves with being the world’s oldest democracy, we in fact started as a fairly limited democracy – we did not incorporate our Black community – and have only tried to be an inclusive democracy for 60 years, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Sadly, this also marked the point at which our political parties began sorting racially, a process that has continued to present day.

But what Dr. Kleinfeld shared next was more disturbing: When identity aligns with party, it increases political instability: “When more than one identity marker lines up, it actually increases chances of civil war by 12 times.” And in the U.S. our major parties are divided by geography (rural vs. urban), religion, and a host of other things.

The U.S. is among the most polarized countries in the world. People who are trained to see and understand democracies and civil wars across the globe, who study the data on civil wars, were not surprised by what happened on Jan. 6 of last year. They agree that the U.S. has high risk factors for civil war or significant harm to our democracy.

Dr. Kleinfeld explained: “Globally, four factors really elevate risk of election violence: competitive elections that decide balance of power, parties divided by identity, election rules that allow you to win by calling on identity because of how districts are drawn, and a security sector that leans to one side.”

We in the U.S. have all four. We also have alarming upward trends of actual violence against public officials, the politicization and extremism of law enforcement and military (1 in 10 rioters on Jan. 6 had service backgrounds), and the skyrocketing of new gun sales. We also have nearly two thirds of state and federal offices being sought by Republicans who do not fully accept the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

In many Catholic churches, however, we can find people of all races and identities under the same roof. These are the kinds of places where peacebuilding can happen, where we can create the conditions for building the understanding we need to turn away from this downward spiral. As we look back on the Jan. 6 Committee hearings and all the violence of recent months, I hope we can all agree that we need to pay attention and start reaching out to those who do not agree with us on every issue.

Dr. Kleinfeld left us with this: “Hope, family, connection: A country rent by dissension must see, feel, and touch how it might come together. Families pulled apart by politics, conspiracy, disagreements over COVID, must find a way back to one another. Social fabric must be darned and re-sewn in a stronger tapestry.”

To help actualize this, churches can lead the way by saying no to violence of any type. Dr. Kleinfeld also called for the subordination of politics below religion, rather than making power into a religion unto itself. These are especially powerful admonitions as we enter into what may be the most consequential U.S. election since the Civil War.

We should also employ our imaginations to envision how the future can be profoundly more just and given to human flourishing, one that is vastly better for all than the old status quo we somehow accepted. At NETWORK, we keep this vision before us in the work we do, and especially as we approach this election. As followers of Jesus and collaborators with the Spirit, we walk in hope. We envision a new, inclusive social fabric, one that is ever durable and resplendently vibrant.

Listen to Just Politics Podcast!

Listen to Just Politics Podcast!

October 4, 2022

Exciting news!

In collaboration with our friends at U.S. Catholic, we have launched a new podcast: Just Politics.

Hosted by Sister Eilis McCulloh, H.M., Colin Martinez Longmore, Joan F. Neal, and Sister Emily TeKolste, S.P., Just Politics is a biweekly podcast about the intersection of Catholic teaching and politics.

In each episode, Catholic sisters and their NETWORK coworkers will engage a variety of guests, including members of Congress and justice-seekers across the country, to explore the question, “What does a better kind of politics look like and how can we make it a reality?”

The first two episodes are already out, and you can listen to them on the U.S. Catholic website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Check out Just Politics press at www.uscatholic.org/justpolitics where you can also sign up for email updates, learn more about each episode, and find additional reading on each episode’s topics.

“We are excited to launch Just Politics, bringing NETWORK’s 50-year tradition of political ministry to a new medium and a new audience in partnership with U.S. Catholic. As we work to dismantle systemic racism, address rising political extremism, and protect our democracy, it is more important than ever to share these spirited conversations about how our faith calls us to respond to the existential threats of our time.”  —Mary J. Novak, NETWORK executive director 

The next episode of Just Politics comes out on October 17th — don’t miss it!

And, don’t forget to join the conversation about #JustPoliticsPod on social media!

To Die to White Supremacy - End Racism

Be Alive In Christ To Die To White Supremacy

White Christians Need To Recognize the Ingrained Racism That Keeps Them From Seeing God in Everyone

Spirited Sisters

September 13, 2022

When confronted with racist or nativist violence or policies, many white Americans respond with the assertion “This is not who we are!” Others claim that calling out white supremacy is an indictment of the very foundation of the United States. And this second group is actually right, though not in the way they intend. White supremacy is indeed the foundation of our nation, and it continues to show up in the attitudes of people as well as the policies and structures on which our society is built.

NETWORK Lobby Hosted a Discussion on White Supremacy and American Christianity with Father Massengale, Dr. Jones, and Dr. Chatelain“White supremacy is the non-rational, instinctual, visceral conviction that this country – its public spaces, its political institutions, its cultural heritage – that these belong to white people in a way that they do not and should not belong to others,” says Father Bryan Massingale of Fordham University. NETWORK’s April 9 conversation with Father Massingale, Dr. Robert P. Jones, and Dr. Marcia Chatelain laid bare that this is precisely who we are – and especially who white American Christians are.

Faced with the stark data from Jones’ research as founder and CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), that just sitting in the pews (in a white congregation) increases your chances of holding racist views, what are Christians – and especially white Christians – to do? According to Jones, “The biggest problem is that white people think they have nothing at stake in this conversation.”

In other words, racism harms all of us. As an organizer, I talk about self-interest regularly, because self-interest can be a fruitful place for people to work together for a shared good. And in this case, that shared good is economic opportunity and a basic standard of living. My grandparents got it as beneficiaries of the GI Bill. Their wealth paid for much of my college (with significant tax benefits that are not granted to those who have to take out student loans).

But as soon as public goods started to open up to people of color, elite white people rebelled and began convincing poor and middle-class white people to choose their racial interests over their class interests – to ensure that Black people didn’t get access to public goods – and in doing so, to prevent themselves from accessing those same public goods. We need a multi-racial coalition to overturn that and build an economy that works for everyone and not just the ultra-wealthy elite. We can’t do that if we continue as we have been.

But this coalition has hurdles to overcome as, in the words of Father Massingale, “The Gospel of white supremacy is the functional religion of many white Christians and many white Catholics.” Which is to say, “white identity is the primary source of their locus, their commitment, their loyalty.”

This kind of truth-telling is critical if we want to move to real racial reconciliation. Conversion requires knowing we are wrong and acting to make amends. As St. Paul tells the Romans, “We’ve been buried with Jesus.” To be buried with Jesus is to be buried with the brown-skinned Jew in occupied Palestine. But we must be buried with Christ if we have any hope of being “alive to Christ.” We must embrace the death of white supremacy and act to bring about the death of white supremacy so that we can be alive to Beloved Community.

Dr. Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University asked us if we could imagine a church that was seriously willing to give up power “in order to show that another world is possible.” Father Massingale asked us if we could imagine Jesus in Black and Brown bodies.

Imagination is a spiritual practice, especially when we want to imagine something that doesn’t yet exist. But the kin-dom of God doesn’t yet exist in its entirety, so we must imagine it. We must create and use images of Christ in Black and Brown bodies. Because if we only see God as a white man, then our subconscious will continue to tell us that only white men should be able to rule here “on earth as it is in heaven.”

All of this calls us to act. So what will you do this week?

Name it here: _________________________________

Now go do it.

Emily TeKolste, SP, is a Sister of Providence and NETWORK Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator. Her article originally appeared in the Third Quarter 2022 issue of Connection, NETWORK’s quarterly magazine – A Time to Build. Read the entire issue here.

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing - Michigan Team in Action

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing with NETWORK Lobby

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing

Tools for Advocacy

September 6, 2022

NETWORK has worked for justice in our federal policies since 1972, and the Advocates Team model of uniting justice-seekers around the country has been with us since NETWORK’s inception. Today, NETWORK has more than 100,000 members and supporters across the country with a presence in nearly every congressional district.

This content is excerpted from the newly published NETWORK Advocates Handbook. Download the full handbook or order a copy in the NETWORK store.

Every time you make a phone call, send emails, sign petitions, attend town halls, or participate in lobby visits, your action increases NETWORK’s power on Capitol Hill. NETWORK’s work would not be possible without the commitment and persistence of our Spirit-filled advocates for justice.

NETWORK Advocates Teams

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing - Monroe Michigan Team Democracy Event - August 2021 If you live in a strategic building state, we invite you to join an existing Advocates Team or work with us to start a new team composed of people united by a shared passion for justice, desire to learn, and commitment to advocacy.

Advocates Teams welcome people with all different levels of experience and backgrounds. Some team members have been involved with NETWORK for decades, while others are new to advocacy.

With support from NETWORK staff and one another, team members grow in their understanding of federal policies that support the common good. They participate in strategies that have a national impact—at a level far beyond individual or uncoordinated efforts. Much of this impact can be attributed to the meaningful relationships team members develop with their Members of Congress and their staff.

Living Out Sister-Spirit

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing - Living Out Sister Spirit at the Supreme Court in Support of DreamersSince 1972, the NETWORK community has grown far beyond only those who are Catholic Sisters. Whether you are a Catholic Sister or not, everyone can live out Sister-Spirit, the radical, joyful, and inclusive energy that motivated NETWORK’s founding and continues to animate NETWORK’s political ministry today.

We live out Sister-Spirit when we…
  1. Listen with curiosity and humility and are open to learning.
  2. Root our understanding in encounter, not ideology.
  3. Approach situations and people with hope and welcome.
  4. Act out of a grounded spirituality rooted in contemplation and reflection.
  5. Pursue Gospel justice with joy and persistence.
  6. Prioritize the well-being of others, especially those at the margins.
  7. Work collaboratively in community, not “presiding over.”
  8. See everyone as people first, not just roles.
  9. Trust our instincts, are bold, and are willing to do the unpopular.

Celebrate together, use humor, and are feisty.

Centering Racial Justice

Because racism is embedded into our society’s systems and structures, we intentionally prioritize dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy in our political systems as well as our economic and social structures. To do this work for racial justice effectively, advocates must engage in ongoing development and learning about racial justice and regular self-reflection. NETWORK resources are available to equip you to do the work of racial and economic justice, organize in solidarity with people of color, and educate yourselves and others in your community about racism.

Encounter-Based Advocacy

Pope Francis often speaks of the importance of creating a “culture of encounter” to bridge divides and Catholic Social Justice instructs advocates to be and act in solidarity with those who are most marginalized by our systems and structures. In other words, the best solutions to problems will not come from the outside but from those who are most directly impacted by the injustices.

Lived experiences are the most important component of the meaning-making that informs our advocacy, therefore, we strive to center the voices of those most directly impacted by the injustices we seek to end.

  • Look first to resources, skills, and perspectives held by impacted communities.
  • Reject a deficit-based approach; instead, recognize the assets already existing in communities.
  • Center peoples telling their own stories and sharing their lived experiences in our advocacy.
  • Involve impacted communities in devising solutions to the challenges they face.
  • Recognize that impact is more important than intent and approach each situation with intentionality and a commitment to recognizing and addressing unintended consequences.
The Power of Organizing

The Power of Spirit-Filled Organizing - Working in NeighborhoodsThe goal of organizing is to get other people to join us in working for a more just world. When we grow our community of justice-seekers, we strengthen our power. Organizing tactics include conducting one-on-ones, planning effective meetings and conference calls, canvassing, hosting a house party or site visit, holding town halls, planning a demonstration, organizing a group to contact elected officials, speaking to the media, or spreading your message online.

As we work for justice, how do we continue to learn and grow? Through feedback and reflection. NETWORK staff are available to help you debrief any meeting, event, or campaign so you can continue to improve your organizing skills. Whether it is talking through a challenge you have encountered or exploring training needs, we are here to help.

NETWORK also has a number of organizing workshops, and we are always working to add more. We offer both topic-based and skill-building workshops including:

  • About NETWORK
  • Catholic Social Justice
  • Intro to Faith-Based Advocacy
  • How to Lobby/Prep for Lobby Visit
  • Build Anew Policy Briefing
  • Racial Wealth and Income Gap
  • Human Bar Graph on Income Inequality
  • Town Hall for Tax Justice
  • Transformative Conversations to Bridge Divides
  • Tax Justice for All: Unveiling the Racial Inequity of the U.S. Tax Code

We encourage you, our members, to share your passion for justice by learning a new organizing skill or revisiting ones that you have used in the past, especially as we approach the 2022 midterm elections. This is a critical time to mobilize fellow justice-seekers to vote for candidates who will advance racial equity and economic justice.

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Whether you live in a state with a NETWORK Advocates team or not, we would love to brainstorm ways to multiply the effects of your advocacy with you. Contact the NETWORK staff by emailing [email protected]. We look forward to talking with you!

This article originally appeared in the Third Quarter 2022 issue of Connection, NETWORK’s quarterly magazine – A Time to Build. Read the entire issue here.

This content is excerpted from the newly published NETWORK Advocates Handbook. Download the full handbook or order a copy in the NETWORK store.

The Theology of Voting: Participation in Democracy as a Christian Value

The Theology of Voting: Participation in Democracy as a Christian Value

Joan Neal
Sept. 2, 2022

Many people would not naturally connect theology — the study of God — with voting.  The two concepts might seem to be in different, if not opposite, realms of reality.  But when we think of theology as our organized system of knowledge and understanding about the nature of the Divine and we think of voting as an area that this knowledge and understanding of the Divine helps us interpret, then it is indeed legitimate to speak of a ‘theology of voting’.  For us as Christians, it’s a little like WWJD – what do we believe Jesus would think and do about voting?

As we explore that question together, let’s begin with a foundational belief. Scripture tells us, and we believe, that we are all created in the image and likeness of God – the Imago Dei.  This is the source of the inherent dignity of every human person and this dignity must be upheld in every aspect of our lives, including our lives as citizens and members of society.  We believe, therefore, that society, government, institutions, all must create the environment where every person can not only live but also thrive.  This means that, as Christians, we must ensure that our civic and political systems serve people and not the other way around.

Together, I want to build on and explore the premise that our faith in God and our belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ call us to view voting as a sacred activity that is informed by our identity as Christians, our belief about Who and What God is, our understanding about God’s love for humanity, and our responsibility to each other as citizens of this country who see the image of God in one another.

However it first must be made clear, that I am not conflating our religious beliefs with our identity as citizens.  That is called Christian nationalism and it is the exact opposite of what I mean about connecting our understanding of God and our secular right to vote.  Christian nationalism is the belief that America as a nation is defined by Christianity and only Christianity holds a privileged position in the public square.  It takes the name of Christ and asserts it as the political agenda for the nation, thereby excluding anyone who is not Christian from national identity.  I am not saying God tells us who we can vote for and who we must not vote for.  That ideology is not Christian at all nor does it serve our responsibilities to our nation.

Rather, I am talking about Christian values and how our formation as people who profess a particular understanding of and faith in God and who follow Jesus Christ Whom we believe is God Incarnate, informs our participation in the public square through the exercise of our right and our responsibility to vote as citizens of the United States.  I am talking about our understanding of what it means to be a person of faith and a citizen of this diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, inter-religious, pluralist country.

Jesus told us what is required of us as Christians living in community with one another: love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  When St. Paul talked about the early Christian communities as the ‘body’, he was referring to our identity as a ‘family of faith’ that is to be in community or relationship with one another and to live in a community – that is, people with common interests living in a particular city, state or country.  His implication is that we are both Christian and citizen and these dual identities must inform each other in order to build the kind of environment, the Beloved Community, (what Jesus often called the Kingdom or Reign of God), on earth.  That should be our goal.  Clearly, our form of government and our participation in it, matter.

So, when we look at different forms of government around the world, (autocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, etc.), we see that the choices are few of governing styles that provide that environment.  In fact, history shows us that democracy is the system of government that best affords every person the freedom and dignity to flourish.

And that is because democracy is not only a system of government.  It is also an ideal, a vision for how a society can organize itself to recognize and respect the dignity and freedom of each and every person while also enabling the common good to thrive.

Infrastructure Law Coordinator-Landrieu

The President’s Bridge Builder – Mitch Landrieu

The President’s Bridge Builder

Q&A With Mitch Landrieu

August 16, 2022

Mitch Landrieu, a senior adviser to the president and coordinator of implementation of the infrastructure law

Credit: Wikipedia

A major accomplishment of President Biden’s first year was the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion effort to modernize U.S. roads, bridges, transit, broadband, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.

Leading this effort is Mitch Landrieu, a Catholic and former mayor of New Orleans (2010-2018). As mayor, Landrieu performed an infrastructure improvement of sorts when he removed the city’s Confederate statues.

He shared with Connection about his work for the Administration and its importance in rebuilding solidarity in society.

Q: What makes an inherently nuts-and-bolts issue like infrastructure come alive for you?

Mitch Landrieu: Infrastructure can seem like a big word – what it is really is about is building a better America and helping people in their daily lives.

With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity – to rebuild our roads and bridges, so you can get where you need to go, quickly and safely; upgrade our ports and waterways, so you can get what you want quickly and cheaply; and expand access to high-speed internet to all Americans, so where you are from has no bearing on how high you go.

And when we do those things right, we can create millions of good-paying jobs. We can reduce costs for middle-class families. We can fight the greatest challenge of our time: climate change.

Most importantly, we can win the economic competition of the 21st century and shape a brighter future for the generations to come. That is what gets me really excited.

Q: What is the most significant aspect of the work you’ve so far overseen for the Administration?

ML: When President Biden asked me to lead infrastructure implementation, he was clear in his charge: Build a better America without unnecessary bureaucracy and delay while doing what is difficult for the sake of what is right.

And that is what we have done in the past seven months.

We have already pushed $110 billion out the door – money that is going towards cleaning up communities, fighting climate change, creating new and better jobs, a and building a bridge to our future economy. And we have got nearly 5000 projects all across the country – in every state, DC, and Puerto Rico – that are identified or are already underway.

I am also really excited about the work we’re doing to close the digital divide, both in terms of laying new broadband and providing affordable high speed internet for those who cannot afford it.

That’s real results where people live and where it really matters. And we are just getting started.

Q: What role does investing in infrastructure play in recovering a sense of solidarity in our society?

ML: President Biden often says that America can be defined in one word: possibilities.

And that’s what we are proving with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We, as Americans, can do big things again.

And we can work together to get things done.

This once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure is an opportunity to build a bridge – both literal and figurative – to the future. A bridge to a 21st century economy where every American has access to good-paying jobs. A bridge to a resilient nation that can withstand the natural disasters that tear our communities apart. A bridge to an America where no American is forgotten or left-behind – and we are more united than divided.

Bridges connect us – they connect people, communities, and the country – and that is exactly what we are doing with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Q: How does your faith inform how you approach this role?

ML: I am a big believer in the common good and lifting people up. It’s why I am so driven to racial equity work. It’s why I think we have to have a moral movement against poverty.

A Jesuit priest, Fr. Harry Tompson, who served as a mentor to so many in New Orleans, told me to “go where you can do the most good for the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time.”  That has always stuck with me.

I take that with me in my work each and every day.

Q: You removed Confederate statues as mayor of New Orleans. What did that experience teach you about community?

ML: A big part of removing the Confederate statues in New Orleans was about reconciling our past and choosing a better future for ourselves – making straight what had been crooked and making right what was wrong.

Sometimes inequity is right in front of us – like the statues were for me – but we do not see it.  Once you do see it, it is hard to look away.

The other thing that was more basic is that our public spaces belong to all of us. The names of buildings, the statues we erect, the way we remember our history do really matter. Making sure everyone is included is critical.

With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are taking a large step in the right direction. We are ensuring every community has access to safe and clean drinking water. We are ensuring every community has access to high-speed Internet. And we are ensuring every community is protected from the devastating effects of the climate crisis.

The future of our communities requires righting the past and building for the future. And that is what we will do with President Biden’s once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure.

This article originally appeared in the Third Quarter 2022 issue of Connection, NETWORK’s quarterly magazine – A Time to Build. Read the entire issue here.

Affirming the Black Catholic Voice and Presence in Our Church and Our Country

Affirming the Black Catholic Voice and Presence in Our Church and Our Country

Joan F. Neal
Aug 10, 2022

NETWORK applauds the National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC), National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, National Association of Black Catholic Deacons, and the National Association of Black Catholic Seminarians for a successful four-day gathering and congratulates the newly elected NBSC Board, including Sr. Addie Lorraine Walker, SSND, NBSC’s new President, who received the organization’s Harriet Tubman Award, for being the “Moses for her people.” As she accepted, Sr. Addie Lorraine said she would “only accept the award if those in the banquet hall would accept the responsibility of being Black in a white-dominated American Catholic church.“

The National Black Sisters’ Conference, which was founded in 1968 to serve as the unifying voice and forum for religious Black Sisters, held its Board election as part of the general assembly. The new Board for the 2022 -24 term includes:  President:  Sr. Addie Lorraine Walker, SSND, who has served on the NBSC Board since 2019; Vice President: Sr. Melinda Pellerin, SSJ, who has also served on the NBSC Board since 2019; Secretary: Sr. Nicole Trahan, FMI, who will be serving on the Board for the first time; and Treasurer:  Sr. Patty Chappell, SNDdeN, who has held previous Board positions.  The other elected members of the Board include:  Sr. LaKesha Church, CPPS, Sr. Roberta Fulton, SSMN, Sr. Gwynette Proctor, SNDdeN, Sr. Patricia Ralph, SSJ, and Sr. Callista Robinson, OSF.

Sandra Coles-Bell, NBSC Executive Director reported from the gathering, “After a two-year hiatus, 150 attendees and members of four national Black Catholic organizations met for four days of reflection, study, conversation, planning, and prayer on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana with the unifying theme of ‘Come Together Children.’ Participants were reminded of the importance of walking together in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and the relevance of the Black Catholic voice and presence in maintaining the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The South African principles of UBUNTU and SAWUBONA engaged participants in robust conversations on how to move prayerfully forward as Black men and women with the full force of Catholicism informed by the faith and experiences of Black people in this country.”

National Black Catholic Sisters Receive Inaugural Justice-Seeker AwardEarlier this year, NETWORK awarded the National Black Sisters’ Conference with the inaugural Distinguished Justice-Seeker Award to honor the NBSC’s dedicated and persistent witness for racial justice in the Catholic Church and society. NETWORK looks forward to collaborating with NBSC’s newly elected Board and commends the continued prophetic witness of the National Black Sisters’ Conference.

Rochester Reparations Vigil | NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Register for the Rochester, NY In-Person Prayer Vigil for Repair and Redress

Racism has been a well-preserved traveler across generations in large part because of government behavior, like: blocked access to the wealth-building opportunities of homeownership, racial bias throughout the criminal legal system, and segregation from “good” schools. Our communities suffer because redress has been denied. We’re glad you can join us!

Want to learn more about New York’s NETWORK Advocates Team, who are volunteer justice-seekers rooted in the community, or about future reparations events and actions? Contact Catherine Gillette, Senior NETWORK Grassroots Mobilization Organizer.

NETWORK Lobby Leaders Envision a Future Built Anew

Toward the Kin-dom

A More Just Future Depends on Everyone Building Together
Joan Neal, Deputy Executive Director & Chief Diversity Officer
Mary J. Novak, Executive Director

August 9, 2022

Movements of people striving for justice have the power to affect real change by pushing for policies that build up the common good. Throughout history, we have seen social and political movements arise, especially from moments of destruction and turmoil, to deliver righteous change. Advocates, organizers, and people of faith know that the process of building so often begins with rebuilding, with emerging from a deep hole and the rubble of broken structures and systems.

The process of re-building from a solid foundation has biblical roots. In the book of Isaiah the Lord says, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28:16-17).

Such is the model and inspiration for NETWORK’s Build Anew agenda. We seek to build up God’s beloved community, a kin-dom of God. Where our political and social systems in this country are not built to include and provide for everyone, we must dismantle, reimagine and build a new foundation, based on the cornerstones of justice, equity, and solidarity.
Pivotal movements such as the Civil Rights Era show us a road map for rebuilding. Racist policies and practices were denying people of color the right to participate fully in a society where they could feel safe and flourish. Civil Rights leaders and activists knew this was not the world God promised, and took on the responsibility to work toward dismantling the old racist structures and building a new social contract that includes everyone. The Catholic Sisters who founded NETWORK 50 years ago were operating out of the same Spirit.

We see these same efforts taking place now through the work of NETWORK Advocates teams and the policies being delivered by this Congress and Administration. The last several years left us in a crater socially and politically – with a global pandemic and political insurrection, on top of distrust in political leadership fueled by a politics of xenophobia and white nationalism. To build anew we must first emerge from this deep hole.

Congress and the Biden administration have stepped into this moment with policies promoting justice and equity. With legislation like the EQUAL Act and the Sentencing Reform package moving through Congress, we see a desire to repair practices that perpetuate racism and white supremacy and foment Christian nationalism. The advocacy work of our community on issues such as Title 42 expulsions at the border and establishing a federal reparations commission show the dedication to building anew.

The signs of our times are troubling and at times terrifying. With growing extremist ideology, an increase in violence, and pernicious political polarization, it can be hard to imagine creating a new world where all can live in dignity and peace. We are looking at the very real possibility of losing our democracy, and if we do, there will be no building anew for a very long time.
But this is our call. Democracy carries both rights and responsibilities. It is not optional to sit by and allow the destruction of a vision of our society that we know is possible. Now is the time that everyone, not just leaders, must step up and do their part.

We must take inspiration and teachings from the change-makers who came before us to continue building towards our vision of the kin-dom. We all have to do whatever we can to save the foundation upon which we were founded so that we can build “a new heaven and a new earth,” a future that embodies the truly representative, multi-racial society we all envision, centered on human dignity.

This article originally appeared in the Third Quarter 2022 issue of Connection, NETWORK’s quarterly magazine – A Time to Build. Read the entire issue here.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965--57 Years Later

Restoring the Promise of the Voting Rights Act — 57 Years Later

Restoring the Promise of the Voting Rights Act — 57 Years Later

Joan Neal, Deputy Executive Director & Chief Diversity Officer
August 9, 2022

Fifty-seven years ago, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a son of the South who recognized the grave wrong of denying African-Americans their right to vote. For the first time in U.S. history, Black Americans had the legal means to ensure compliance with the 15th Amendment of the Constitution and to challenge restrictive voting laws and practices designed to deny them access to the ballot. This was a victory brutally fought for in the Civil Rights Movement and a long time coming.

African Americans were hopeful that at last they could assume their place as full citizens of this country, participate equally in the political process, and exercise their right to vote without fear or harassment. But celebration was short-lived as the Voting Rights Act was met with almost immediate court challenges, mostly from Southern states, the same states where slavery had once thrived. Many people remained determined to deny the most basic right of citizenship to a large swath of their fellow citizens.

Sadly, this ‘tug of war’ for the full rights of citizenship for people of color has continued over time. In 1970, 1975, and 1982, Congress renewed the Voting Rights Act. In 2007, Congress amended it to include non-English speaking U.S. citizens, Indigenous people, and other excluded populations, and extended its enforcement provisions for 25 years. But many states, mostly in the South, continued to place obstacles in the way of non-white citizens’ exercise of their right to vote in order to dilute Black voters’ electoral power and their potential to threaten the political status quo.

Despite these efforts, the political power of Black, Latinx, Native American, and AAPI voters across the country has grown over time. Increasingly, Black and Brown voters have diversified the ranks of elected officials, making their voices heard through the ballot box so powerfully that in 2008, we saw the election of Barack Obama, the first Black President in U.S. history. In 2021, we saw the election of the first Black and the first Jewish Senators from Georgia. While these were historic victories for our country, many white citizens found them a threat to their traditional idea of America.

Backlash against Voting Rights

A growing number of white voters now fear their historical monopoly on political power in this country will be forever eroded if Black, Latinx, Native American, and other excluded voters are able to freely exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote.
This fear was apparent when the Supreme Court, in its Shelby County v Holder decision, struck down the enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. The court’s ruling found that the formula to determine which jurisdictions were subject to pre-clearance requirements was unconstitutional because it is based on an old formula and assumed there was no longer a need for such enforcement. Contrary to the Court’s assumption, immediately after the ruling was handed down, states began to pass restrictive voting laws and increase ID requirements once again.

State legislatures gerrymandered district maps and made it harder to access the voting booth by closing polling places, especially in communities of color, limiting early voting, placing restrictions on mail-in voting, and by putting people in positions who will enforce these restrictions no matter the infringement on their citizens’ rights. Since the beginning of 2021, 18 states have passed 34 restrictive voting laws, which disproportionately affect voters of color.

Reclaiming Our Right to Vote

Today, as a country, we find ourselves facing the same situation the Voting Rights Act was designed to end. Once again, Black and Brown citizens have to fight to retain the fundamental right to vote their conscience and their preference in free and fair elections.
This is not just a problem for people of color. Unfounded restrictions on lawful access to the ballot, excessive and undue requirements for citizens to exercise their right to vote, and the undergirding white supremacist ideology that fuels them, are a problem for all of us. Voting is the pillar and hallmark of a functioning democracy and when citizens are unduly prevented from the free and fair exercise of that right, it weakens our democracy. That is why everyone must step up to reject these unconstitutional attacks on the right to vote.

Now Is the Time to Act

Right now, our democracy is on the verge of collapse in the face of an unrelenting assault on our rights by people who seek only their own, unrestricted power. Everyone needs to wake up to this threat to our democracy!
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an important step in securing the rights of citizenship for all people. We cannot and must not let its legacy be lost. At this crucial time in our country’s history, we must come together to protect our right to vote from those who would withhold the full rights of democracy from some people based on race, ethnicity, or other arbitrary distinctions.

The Senate must join the House in passing H.R.4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. And it’s our time to emulate the Civil Rights advocates of the 1960s and demand the rights of democracy for all. Most importantly, we must use our political power to elect policymakers who will safeguard the right to vote for all citizens.
Our vote is our voice and right now, we have to raise our collective voice and overcome these anti-democracy forces once and for all. If we fail, we might wake up to find that we no longer live in a pluralistic, democratic society, but an autocracy enforced by the political and financial power of a small group of people who fundamentally do not believe in democracy at all. The time is now to act.