Category Archives: Spirit Filled Network

Becoming Eagerly Engaged

Becoming Eagerly Engaged

By U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
From NETWORK’s Catholic Social Justice Reflection Guide

Over 60 years ago, my father and mother met in Las Vegas, Nevada. My father, the son of a Mexican immigrant, got his start parking cars at the Dunes Hotel and eventually rose to become the head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority – working to help build Las Vegas into the premier destination it is today. My father, Manny Cortez, lived his life following three principles: work hard, be honest, and respect everyone.

If it were not for my grandparents and parents’ hard work and the opportunities this country afforded them, my sister and I would have not been the first in our family to graduate from college and I would not be serving as the first Latina senator in the U.S. Senate.

For me, the appeal of public office has never been about the spotlight or political influence. It has always been about giving back – an important principle my parents taught me from a young age. I ran for public office because I want to give back to the community that has given so much to my family.

I’ve spent my career working to solve problems. As Nevada’s attorney general, I introduced over 40 bipartisan bills that were signed into law by a republican governor. As Nevada’s newest U.S. Senator, I will work to find common ground with my new colleagues to end the gridlock in Washington and get to work on the issues most important to Nevadans.

I also believe in ensuring the most vulnerable among us have the opportunities they need and deserve to succeed. When I first ran for public office and later for Senate, I promised that I would be a voice for those who have often been neglected. That’s why I have been a tireless advocate for human rights issues, especially domestic violence and sexual assault prevention. When women are given the support and tools they need to succeed, our communities thrive. That is why I am committed to passing equal pay for equal work legislation, raising the minimum wage, and passing comprehensive immigration reform to keep hardworking immigrant families together.

While we have a president who has wasted no time putting the anti-immigrant, misogynist, xenophobic rhetoric he campaigned on into dangerous action, I will continue fighting every day for an America that is inclusive and welcoming, not one that divides us and takes us backwards. But I cannot do it alone. We must all become eagerly engaged in our communities. Together, our voices and our actions can, and will, make a difference.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto represents the state of Nevada. As a former attorney general, she has championed the rights of the vulnerable and fought for comprehensive foreclosure reform.

View the full Catholic Social Justice Reflection guide here.

View the Lent Calendar to take action on healthcare here.

Something Which Can Never Be Taken Away

Something Which Can Never Be Taken Away

By James Luisi
From NETWORK’s Catholic Social Justice Reflection Guide

Last spring I went to jail for the first time. Not because I had been charged with any crime or because I had been arrested—I was with a group of students from Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. We were in jail together that Sunday morning, seeking to pray and break bread with the inmates.

I suppose the jail matched what I could imagine based off a season of Orange is the New Black. The walls were painted cinder block. The doors locked behind us wherever we went. Corrections officers were stationed periodically throughout the hallways, buzzing us through.

I wasn’t even sure why I was there that morning or what I was expected to do. As part of a school-wide week-of-service, some of us had the opportunity to go to the jail to do “prison ministry” but I had no clue what that actually meant. Was I expected to talk to the prisoners? Counsel them? Tell them about God?

I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned I wouldn’t be going alone through the jail that day. Our task would be rather straightforward and simple: my fellow student and I would go with the seasoned chaplain to three locations in the prison; we would celebrate a communion service with a pre-written reflection from the chaplain and offer the prisoners a chance to say a word or two about the readings if they felt so called; and then we would pack up and go to the next location. I took comfort in the simple formula that our day would follow, knowing there was not much I could mess up so long as I didn’t miss getting buzzed through a door.

I don’t really know anything about the men I met in the jail that morning. I quickly learned that I was not being asked to “do” anything for them. There was nothing to do. The simple act of being present, of acknowledging the fundamental human dignity of the men in jail that day by praying with them, by sharing the Eucharist with them—that was all I could do.

Society often values human life only by what it can contribute to its prosperity. Most people might even agree with the reasonable-sounding idea that, for the most part, society should be structured to give to each person that which they have earned. It’s hard to argue with the logic of a meritocracy—if you work hard, you should be able to get ahead in life; if you pursue higher education, you should make more money doing less strenuous work; if you have an innovative idea, you should profit from your ingenuity.

People in jail are severely limited in their ability to contribute to society. In fact, they have been removed from society precisely so that society can extract a debt from them. It is not for me to say whether or not the men I met that day merited their sentences; in fact, many if not all of them may have been duly processed for a law they had broken.

But this is precisely the point. Human dignity is not only something which cannot be earned, it is also something which can never be taken away, even if one has committed a heinous offense. What I learned by praying with those in jail is that human dignity radically transcends both merit and demerit—nothing can add to nor detract from the humanity of any human being, in any circumstance, ever. A person couldn’t even renounce his or her own human dignity, so intrinsically is it linked to their very being!

We should be able to agree that those things which are necessary to uphold the human dignity of our fellow sisters and brothers—things like nutrition, shelter, healthcare, community, the opportunity to participate in society—are things for which no one must prove merit. Then, perhaps, we can begin to have a reasonable debate about how we can go about providing these things to all people. This might sound pretty radical, but then again, that’s human dignity.

James Luisi is a third year student at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, and a former NETWORK Government Relations Associate.

View the full Catholic Social Justice Reflection guide here.

View the Lent Calendar to take action on healthcare here.

Standing Together to Meet the Challenges Ahead

Standing Together to Meet the Challenges Ahead

U.S. Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez
Published in the First Quarter 2017 issue of NETWORK’s Connection Magazine

There is no doubt that this is going to be a difficult year for America. Immigrants, women, people of color, Muslims, environmentalists, the LGBT community – there are many groups firmly in the crosshairs of the new Administration and the new Congress. Though only supported by a minority of American voters, the new President, Donald Trump, will not be shy in taking action to enhance his brand. We do not yet know the specifics, and it is clear that his opinions change about as quickly as you can hit refresh on your Twitter feed. But Trump’s lieutenants are the most clearly ideological and dangerous set of leaders ever assembled in American government on immigration and any number of issues we may care about.  There is a vindictiveness coming to government the likes of which we have never seen, and with shadowy figures like Breitbart’s Steve Bannon or the Federation for American Immigration Reform’s Kris Kobach calling signals behind the scenes, there is reason to prepare for the worst.

Immigrants and immigration were important campaign themes – or I should say, slandering immigrants and immigration were. The irony is that support for sensible immigration reform actually increased and support for mass deportation decreased during the year and a half that Trump campaigned for the White House. Across numerous polls, roughly 80% of the American people favor letting undocumented immigrants stay in this country and about 60% among Trump supporters. But that is not likely to translate into any sensible policies coming out of Washington. We expect to see the same recycled, deportation-only bills come through the House Judiciary Committee, but the difference will be that we no longer have a reliable Senate or White House backstop to contain self-destructive immigration ideas.

Their game plan is simple: make legal immigration harder for everyone – and impossible for most people – and then rail against the resulting illegalities, decry the black market, label everyone as criminals, and use good old fashioned fear of “the other” to marginalize immigrants. The goals will be to demonstrate that Republicans are being tough, cruel, and unsympathetic to immigrants – especially undocumented immigrants — and tough on Mexico and Muslims in particular.

To most Republican lawmakers, the illusion is more important than the substance of legislation because they are trying to placate their own voters, whom they fear because their own voters are being whipped up by advocates for reduced immigration who will not be satisfied until every undocumented immigrant is marched across the border and the country is sealed off from the world. It is an unachievable goal, not to mention a self-destructive one, but the tail is wagging the dog, and the minority of immigration opponents are dictating what does and does not constitute being “soft on immigrants.”

That Trump and Congress are being driven by such ideological extremes will be the downfall of their agenda. Americans favor legal immigration and are rightly concerned about uncontrolled and illegal immigration, but those driving the issue in the Republican Party are opposed to immigration, period. They want fewer people – especially fewer people of color – in “their” country. The American people don’t believe we will deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and they are right. But those driving the issue are hooked on the mass deportation fantasy and the idea that more than 10 million people will self-deport.  Most Americans, however, do not think a wall will actually work as an immigration control strategy and they sense that immigration is broader and deeper than the physical border to the South.

But many Americans still voted for Trump because he tapped into the frustration many people feel because no one has been able to make immigration a safe, legal, and orderly process for the American people and those who seek to become Americans.

So, supporters of immigration and immigration reform need to stick to our principals and keep fighting for our vision of a modern, 21st century immigration system because our vision is what the American people actually want. We have to do a better job of communicating that immigration reform is about more than being kind or respectful to immigrants. In the transactional world of American politics, doing something “for” one group is often perceived as doing something “against” everyone else, which is simply not the case with immigration.

And we must support our allies who will also be targeted by the Republican agenda, be that women’s health care, LGBT rights, people of color claiming their rightful place in America, or a business-driven assault on working people and mother earth. We must join arms with clergy and labor, progressives, and moderates so that when Republicans try to come after one of us, they will have to come through all of us. If the new President comes for the Muslims, I will be a Muslim. If they come for women’s rights, I will stand with women. When they deny climate science, I will make my voice heard. We must heed the warning Benjamin Franklin made to his fellow signers of the Declaration of Independence: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

Congressman Luis V. Gutiérrez represents the fourth district of Illinois. He is nationally recognized for his tireless leadership championing issues of particular importance to Latino and immigrant communities.

Advent Reflection: When Will We Make Room?

Advent Reflection:
When Will We Make Room?

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC
December 19, 2016

As the Advent season advances, we journey with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where they were met with insufficient housing. Consequently, when the time came, our Lord was born in a barn.  The Blessed Mother and St. Joseph were not lazy, unemployed or stupid (as some might say about those who are in need of shelter). On the contrary, they did precisely what they were asked to do at a very inconvenient time. And still, there was no room for them.

Today, many factors contribute to homelessness. Millions of families are one health diagnosis, one legislative action, one act of violence or one pay check away from homelessness. They, like the Holy Family, are responding to the many demands of life. And for some, it won’t matter. They will find no room at any inn.

Mr. McDermott lived on the same block as my mom for about 30 years with his wife and two sons. Mrs. McDermott was a nurse and he always worked, too. The kids went to the local Catholic school, grew up, married and moved away.  As the couple faced an empty nest, Mrs. McDermott was diagnosed with cancer. Toward the end of her battle, she was at the family home and Mr. McDermott was steadfastly present to her.

Last Christmas, on a cold, snowy afternoon, the ambulance came for Mrs. McDermott. The paramedics brought the dying woman out while her husband marched right beside them. His face was a billboard of numbing, incomparable sorrow. We pitifully looked on and offered our prayers as he trudged by us.

A couple months after the funeral, Mr. McDermott seemingly disappeared and the house was emptied of its contents. Subsequently, bank notices were posted on the front door and window. There were rumors, but I do not know whether he left the house due to foreclosure, taxes, or other reasons. I do know that Mr. McDermott was a good man who worked and did everything one could expect of him during a desperately painful time. In return, there was no longer room at his own inn.

Every day, people are responding to suffering and difficult situations with honor.  Can the same be said of our government?  As a community, we must call for the implementation of programs that enable families and individuals to live dignified lives. This includes ensuring access to affordable housing and healthcare, a living wage, and preventing domestic violence.

It is vital to increase the amount of subsidized housing that is clean, reasonably priced, and rodent-free.  Enhancing the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will allow more families to move from areas that have been decimated by government-approved policies including redlining, forced urban development, and a lack of infrastructure maintenance.

It has been more than 2000 years since Jesus came into our struggling world, seeking shelter. He continues to come to us in our neighbors. This time, let us provide more than just a barn.

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy is a public housing attorney and a “Nun on the Bus”