Category Archives: Voting and Democracy

Network condemns voting righs EO and SAVE Act bill

NETWORK Lobby Condemns Trump’s Voting Rights Executive Order and the SAVE Act (H.R.22)

NETWORK Lobby Condemns Trump’s Illegal and Blatantly Authoritarian Voting Rights Executive Order

Min. Christian S. Watkins
March 28, 2025

President Trump issued an extreme executive order Tuesday, March 25, 2025 that threatens our freedom to vote with unconstitutional mandates, public and election administration confusion, and draconian restrictions for election officials and voters.

According to the White House, the Trump administration desires to require “government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship on its voter registration forms.” to ensure no non-citizens are voting in U.S. elections. Additionally, the Administration’s move preempts House Republicans’ attempts to pass H.R.22—the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill that seeks to codify extreme voter suppression tactics into law.We know that these non-citizen voting claims are a false flag, as there is no evidence that noncitizen voter registration and voting is occurring at any meaningful scale. Not only is it practically infeasible for an undocumented immigrant to have the documents required to register to vote in the first place, it’s also difficult to imagine an undocumented immigrant would risk government scrutiny, arrest, and deportation — all to cast just one vote. President Trump and his enablers in Congress peddle the lie of noncitizen voting to try to justify their attempts to take away our freedom to vote. They know that their policies are unpopular, so they want to make it harder for our communities to vote and have a say in the decisions that affect us. This is yet another move in their effort to consolidate power for themselves.

The SAVE Act would mandate American citizens provide proof-of-citizenship documents that many can’t access – like a passport or certified birth certificate – to register to vote or update their registration, such as after a move. Federal courts have found it an impermissible violation of the Constitution. State Department data shows 43-49% of Americans, or 104-118M voting-age citizens, do not have current passports.

Moreover, research from the Center for American Progress finds that approximately 69 million women do not have a birth certificate with their legal married name on it. Nearly 80% of married women–more than 69 million American women–have adopted their partner’s surname, and they would be unable to register to vote if the name on their ID does not directly match their proof of citizenship.

In effect, millions of people would have to get a passport that has lists their current name. But obtaining a passport takes time (in recent years, it has taken 10-13 weeks to process a passport applications) and is costly. Current rates are a $130 application fee plus a $35 execution fee. The fees are the same for passport renewal. This is seemingly a reiteration of poll taxes levied against African Americans and other impoverished citizens that were commonplace before the 24th Amendment to the Constitution ratified on January 23, 1964.

Consumer research shows that citizens in rural, working class, farming, and evangelical communities are least likely to hold passports. The data show:
• 76% of citizens who have not attended college do NOT have a valid passport
• 70% of citizens with family income less than $50K do NOT have a valid passport
• 62% of “evangelical hub” citizens do NOT have a valid passport
• 58% of citizens in working-class communities do NOT have a valid passport
• 53% of rural and farmland citizens do NOT have a valid passport

The freedom to vote is a foundational American value. And it’s one that states deliver on in every election cycle. States have strong checks and balances in place to ensure their elections are secure and accurate, with layers of safeguards in place set by state and federal law. States do not need Elon Musk’s DOGE accessing our personal information or disrupting electoral systems that effectively delivered results just a few months ago. Additionally, withholding federal funds from states that do not cooperate with the order’s provisions is egregious and will be a detriment to the unity and stability of our nation and elections. President Trump’s order, the SAVE Act, and bills like it are meant to divide Americans at a time when we are united in what we want from our government leaders: solutions to fix our broken economy.

Read NETWORK’s March 28 statement condemning the Trump administration’s illegal effort to steal the voting rights of millions.

Additional resources

The Whole Body Suffers

 

The Whole Body Suffers

This Black History Month Tests the Health of Our Union and Communion 

Joan F. Neal
February 25, 2025

Joan F. Neal, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer at NETWORK

Joan F. Neal, Interim Executive Director at NETWORK

This Black History Month has been hard. I simply cannot sugarcoat it. Just as cold and flu season have ravaged so many people during the month of February, this month has also offered one terrible episode after another which should make all of us worry about the health of our country.  The destruction of government infrastructure and institutions combined with the normalizing of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment have ravaged the U.S. in ways that put all of us more at risk of being less financially secure and even less healthy. 

For years, the United States has been credited with having the “best health care in the world.” But if that is true, what else is also true is that access to that system is not equitably shared. Health care continues to be an issue for Black communities, and Black History Month reminds us of that fact.  It shows us how the structures of society can be weaponized against people just as easily as they can promote stability and justice. 

In the U.S., structural racism can be as simple as where a hospital or a grocery store is built; which communities can receive urgent, life-saving care and which lack even adequate transportation to access quality health care.  Structural racism decides which neighborhoods have ready access to the fresh fruits and vegetables so essential for a healthy life and which communities are literal food deserts with only small grocery stores and limited options or fast-food outlets. Caring for our health involves both being able to access medical care when needed as well as being able to maintain good health by eating well. 

And while we may not realize it, these healthcare gaps are at the heart of today’s debates over the federal budget. Republicans in Congress have once again proposed to slash essential food and health care programs to give tax cuts to billionaires, balancing the budget on the backs of children, families, and ordinary people, many of whom are Black and Brown.  These actions not only exacerbate the healthcare situation but also perpetuate the racial wealth and income gap and reverse the gains that Black History Month celebrates.   

Families should not lose the ability to feed their babies through SNAP benefits in order to give Elon Musk another tax break. Nor should they lose their Medicaid in order for Jeff Bezos to further pad his considerable bottom line. Our very health and lives are literally caught up in this budget fight, and it is time for all people to speak out! 

Families should not lose the ability to feed their babies through SNAP benefits in order to give Elon Musk another tax break … Our very health and lives are literally caught up in this budget fight, and it is time for all people to speak out! 

Troubling signs are all around us. At the beginning of February, the report emerged that Black women die at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women around the time of childbirth, an increase from 2.6 times higher only a couple years earlier. The Black maternal mortality crisis is real, a concern of NETWORK, and just one of many indicators of persistent structural racism in U.S. health care. And if the proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid go through, they will be no exception. 

 NETWORK is fighting against these discriminatory policies through our new policy agenda: An Economy for All, which presents a clear plan to create an inclusive economy where everyone thrives – no exceptions.  This is the vision that is central to the celebration of Black History Month. 

Moreover, in areas such as health care, impacts spread.  Scripture tells us that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers (1 Cor 12:26). This is important to remember as the Trump administration rolls out its cruel and discriminatory agenda. No one can say “this won’t affect me.” Everyone should be concerned. This month’s Senate confirmation of vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary portends a picture of a future where the health of all people in the U.S. will be weakened, where women won’t be able to get the health care they need, where children will die from easily preventable diseases, undoing decades of medical progress that made this country—and the world—healthier. 

The whole body also suffers from the moral wound that is inflicted on society by the acceptance of racist policies, whether in health care, foreign assistance, or immigration. It is all morally unacceptable, and it hurts our souls to permit it, even passively. For U.S. Catholics, this Black History Month has tested our Union, the structures that enshrine  “We the People” of the country. But it has also tested our Communion, our capacity to be one Body with all God’s children. If we are indifferent to our Black or immigrant friends or abandon our fellow neighbors abroad, we have lost our sense of Communion. 

I believe that our country and the church are still healthy enough to rally and offer the moral witness necessary to fight off the harms of entrenched racism and Christian nationalism now ravaging our body politic. But it will require a renewed sense of solidarity, a commitment to being not just one people, but one Body, accountable to all its members without exception. That is a history well worth writing with our actions today. 

Holding onto Hope

Holding onto Hope

Grounding Ourselves in Encounter and Community is the Way Forward

Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM

Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders stand around the graves of Cesar and Helen Chavez as their grandson, Andres Chavez, leads the Prayer of the Farm Worker’s Struggle.

On a warm, sunny morning in Keene, California, Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders stood around the graves of Cesar and Helen Chavez while Andres Chavez (their grandson) led us in the Prayer of the Farm Worker’s Struggle.

“Show me the suffering of the most miserable. Thus, I will know my people’s plight,” Andres prayed, and we repeated.

As we begin 2025 and gear up for a new administration and a new Congress, I find myself returning to this prayer as a source of encouragement amid the struggle that we will be up against with the new Trump administration. I also find myself searching for hope and encouragement to hold onto as we fight for the rights of so many people.

Nuns on the Bus & Friends was a boost of energy and belief in the power of people who come together in search of the common good. From coast to coast, we were welcomed into neighborhoods and communities. We witnessed the resurrection of a community when meeting with the Resurrected Community Development Foundation in Allentown, PA; celebrated liturgy and broke bread with the community in Cleveland at Blessed Trinity Parish; learned from NETWORK’s Coston Fellows at the Town Hall in Milwaukee, WI; and walked along the Border with Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, AZ.

No matter where we were, we heard about the struggle to ensure that all people—no matter their country of origin, faith tradition, economic status, age, or gender—have what they need to thrive. We learned about people who saw a need and did all they could to meet that need in their communities.

Sometimes it included feeding people out of the trunk of their car; other times it involved launching an internet service provider to ensure that neighbors had access to the internet.

Everywhere we went, we heard stories about people seeing a need and meeting a need. This was the gift of the Bus – to give us enough hope, joy, and courage to hold onto as we head into this upcoming year.

As we all know, less than a month after the Bus ended, a stark reality descended upon us. Our fight for thriving communities, for an Economy for All, will be much more difficult.

Make no mistake: the next four years will be difficult and filled with challenges. But we cannot let ourselves lose focus.

We cannot let ourselves be swayed by angry rhetoric that attempts to divide us by demonizing so many members of our communities: immigrants, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who depend on life-saving programs like SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid.

Nuns on the Bus & Friends riders visit the National Chavez Center.

These are times that will require us to dig deep, to root ourselves in our communities across the country, to hold onto hope and joy, and to continue the fight for equality and justice.

We must work together to create a country where all people are welcomed; where all people are seen as created in the image of God; and where all people have what they need to thrive.

As we begin 2025, we may find it easy to think about giving up hope and to throw in the proverbial towel. We must reflect on the words of the Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle, so that we can “let the spirit flourish and grow so that we will never tire of the struggle.”

For some of us, that means we cannot allow our privileges of being safe from deportation or discrimination of any kind to lead us into complacency. With a renewed commitment, we must be led into authentic solidarity with our neighbors, our communities, our cities, and our country.

This story was published in the Quarter 1 2025 issue of Connection.

NETWORK Condemns Unconstitutional and Malicious Policies, Destruction of Federal Government Under President Trump and Elon Musk

NETWORK Condemns Unconstitutional and Malicious Policies, Destruction of Federal Government Under President Trump and Elon Musk

Joan F. Neal
February 11, 2025 
Call Congress to stop the illegal and cruel actions of President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk

Visit this page to see what you could say on your call: https://networklobby.org/actnow/

Recent actions by the Trump administration during its first three weeks in office, enabling Elon Musk’s attempt to shut down and dismantle key parts of the federal government, fire federal employees, stop federal funding, and shred hard fought civil protections for all of us, amount to an unconstitutional and illegal power grab. “These actions violate protections in our Constitution and founding documents, Catholic social justice teaching, religious freedom, and the dignity of the human person,” said Joan F. Neal, Interim Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. She added that all Catholics, indeed all people across the country, should oppose this Administration and these actions. Her full statement follows:

Catholics believe in the God-given dignity of each person, the right and responsibility of every person to participate in society, and justice as the definition of right relationship between all people, God, and God’s creation. The illegal and cruel actions by Elon Musk, an unelected private citizen, violate our basic democratic principles, the rights of We The People and the Constitutional power of Congress.

They foster injustice and tear apart the fabric of our society. His unfettered access to the internal functions of the federal government and his attempts to destroy it from within are absolute threats to our freedoms and the rule of law, principles that make our country what it is – a democratic republic of the people, by the people, and for the people. Government by autocracy and oligarchy is diametrically opposed to the ideals of a more just, inclusive, and pluralist country.

All of us must take action together against such attempts to erode the very foundations of our democracy.

From attempts to defund Medicaid, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, and other vital programs that working families and vulnerable people depend on every day, to dehumanizing attacks on immigrants at schools, churches, and hospitals, to shutting down USAID and firing its personnel, we are a nation under siege by the unchecked power of the richest man on the planet and an Administration that is more concerned with punishing its enemies than lowering the price of eggs and gas for ordinary people.

Joan F. Neal, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer at NETWORK

Joan F. Neal, NETWORK Interim Executive Director

These actions should give us all pause and motivate all of us, no matter our religion, political party, or station in life, to oppose this Administration’s attempts to dismantle our democracy. No one voted for a king or for rule by an unelected band of billionaires.

History, including U.S. history, is filled with examples of brave everyday people coming together, organizing and resisting efforts by governments to destroy their freedom and safety. Now it is our turn to do the same. Now is the time to take action against this direct attack on our democracy. Now is the time to call our members of Congress and tell them to resist the unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral actions of this Administration. Now is the time for all of us to come together, hold our leaders accountable, organize for justice, and say, “Not this time! Not in our country! Not on our watch!”

Together, we can shine the light of truth and lead the way to a more just, inclusive, and promising future where everyone thrives, no exception.

Take Action After the January 2025 First 100 Days Strategy and Action Webinar

The First 100 Days

Strategy & action for the 2nd Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

Take Action

Join with Advocates! Visit your Representative’s local (district) office.

Sign Up Now

Download the webinar slides here!

Social Media Toolkit

DOWNLOAD

TAKE ACTION!

Make a visit to the district office of your Member of Congress with NETWORK materials.

SIGN UP

How to Visit Your Representatives Local Office

During the House January Recess (Jan. 27-31), NETWORK advocates across the country are visiting their Representatives’ in-district offices to share information about NETWORK and our 2025 Legislative Priorities. You don’t have to be a policy expert to participate. This is a quick, relationship-building activity that is focused on values. We hope you will join us!  

Making the most of your visit to your Representative’s in-district office
Whether your Representative is brand-new to Congress or has been serving your district for 20 years, it’s important for you to build a relationship with the staff in their in-district offices and tell them about NETWORK and our policy priorities. In-district staff are members of your community, and getting to know them and demonstrating that you care about your district is your first step to building or strengthening your relationship with your Member of Congress.  

While this visit is not a formal lobby visit, it is an effective way to introduce yourself and NETWORK to the in-district staff—and increase your chances of getting a meeting with your Representative the next time they’re home.  Here are some tips for having a successful visit:  

  • Confirm the office’s location and hours. Depending on the size of your district, your Representative may have one or several offices, and their addresses and phone numbers will be listed on their official house.gov website. Call ahead to confirm the location and find out what days and times you can visit. If you’re going in a group, make sure that everyone knows what time you’re visiting the office.  

Important Note: While we are hoping for the visits to take place during January Recess, we also recognize that newly elected officials may not have all their in- district offices set up yet. If your local office isn’t open yet, please maintain communication and visit as soon as you’re able. It’s crucial for new Members of Congress to meet you and learn about NETWORK!  

  • Connect with other local advocates: There is power in numbers! If other NETWORK advocates from your district sign-up to participate, we will do our best to get you all connected. We also encourage you to think about who in your personal network you could invite to join you in your advocacy! 
  • Prepare your materials. In addition to the About NETWORK handout and NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Priorities, you will also want to include a brief cover letter and make it clear that these materials are for the Representative and the District Director. In your letter, be sure to name that you’re a constituent and what town/neighborhood you live in, and include affiliations such as your parish or community, ministry or workplace, or where you volunteer. 
  • Prepare for your conversation. While this will most likely not be a long meeting, it’s important to think about what you will say. You will of course want to introduce yourself, NETWORK, and our 2025 Legislative Agenda; and if you’re going with a group, make sure that everyone briefly introduces themselves, and you can divide up what you are going to say. Remember: as this is a relationship-building meeting, it’s important to keep the tone friendly and respectful. This is not a time to debate policy. Also, please stick to the policies outlined on NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Priorities; our Government Relations team has done the analysis, and we know that these are the first issues that the House is going to tackle through the budget reconciliation process. We also want to make sure that the staff understand who NETWORK is and what we work on.  

This is also a time to gather important information about the office and your Representative.  Here are some things you should learn during your visit:  

  • The names and emails of the District Director and Scheduler. This is key for scheduling future lobby visits! 
  • How you sign up for your Representative’s newsletter 
  • If your Representative is having any public events for constituents, such as town halls, virtual or in-person, in the next few months 
  • Be flexible during your visit. As this is not a formally scheduled lobby visit, you will most likely not know who you are going to meet when you go to the office. Since the House is on recess, you may actually get a few minutes to chat with your Representative. However, it’s more likely that you’ll speak with a District Director or someone in constituent services. Remember that not everyone in an in-district office deals with policy, so you may have to adjust how much you speak about NETWORK’s 2025 Legislative Agenda. Regardless of who you meet with, this is still an important first step to building a relationship with your Representative. 
  • Finishing touch and follow-up. If they’re available, be sure to get business cards for the District Director and Scheduler. Also, sign up for the Representative’s newsletter. And—just like you would for a lobby visit—a day or two after your visit, email the District Director and attach the About NETWORK and the 2025 Legislative Priorities documents to the email. If you met with them, of course thank them for their time. If you didn’t, simply let them know that you dropped by the office and that you’re looking forward to meeting with them in the future.   
  • Follow-up with NETWORK. As you know, we here at NETWORK love to see you in action. Please send us photos of you visiting the office, and, if it’s appropriate, include the person that you met with—especially if you do get a few moments with your Representative! About a week after January Recess, we will be sending out a report-back form so that we can collect information. Please take time to fill out the form!  
2025 Legislative Priorities - District Office Leave-Behind
About NETWORK - District Office Leave-Behind

Get Out Social Media Toolkit!

DOWNLOAD
Just Politics Catholic Podcast Season 2

What’s the Real Reason for High Grocery Prices?

What’s the Real Reason for High Grocery Prices? 

Food prices are unaffordable! What’s going on, and what can we do?

Check out our food prices one-pager here!

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP
August 30, 2024

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP, is NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator.

No matter how old we are, where we live, or what’s in our wallets, every one of us has a right to be free from hunger. It’s a matter of our dignity. Grounded in the teaching and tradition of Catholic Social Justice, NETWORK believes that all of us—especially our children and elderly—have an essential right to good, basic nutrition.

As we all have noticed, grocery prices have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic. But even after the crisis of the pandemic has subsided, and even as inflation has dropped off in recent months, grocery prices remain high. With food prices up roughly 20% in the last two years, too many of us are struggling to feed ourselves and our families.

Why are our grocery prices so high?

We hear all sorts of explanations for food inflation, but none of them explain why big food corporations keep raising their prices.

So, what is actually behind the continuing rise in food prices? The simple fact is that a few big agribusiness executives are lining their pockets at our expense. Economists estimate that, by mid-2022, 53% of the increase in food prices was the direct result of corporate profiteering. Workers’ wage increases accounted for less than 8%.

While we’re struggling to feed our families…

      • Big corporations made $2.5 trillion in profits in 2021 alone, their most profitable year since 1950—and corporate food executives still raised prices.
        • Tyson Foods made profits of $11 billion, up 48% from 2021.
        • Cargill, a huge commodities corporation, posted $5 billion in 2021 profits.
        • General Mills posted profit increases of 97% in early 2022, as it increased its prices by 53%.
        • PepsiCo raised prices for drinks and snacks by 17%, while its profits grew by 20%.
        • Coca-Cola’s corporate profits grew by 14%.
      • At the same time, food industry CEO salaries became even more bloated, averaging $22 million in 2022—almost 1,000 times the average food worker’s earnings.
      • All this time, a few mega-corporations controlled the food industry, all but eliminating real competition, and driving out smaller businesses.
        • Cargill and three other firms control 70% of the world’s food market.
        • Just four supermarket chains control 65% of the nation’s food retailers.

But you won’t hear big food executives and the politicians they buy mention these realities. Some Republican lawmakers like to blame inflation on the Biden-Harris administration’s economic policies — even though those policies help us afford our groceries. They blame the tax, unemployment, and rental assistance lifelines that got struggling families through the pandemic, and they blame new programs that build well-paying jobs, safely fix our roads and bridges, and give us clean air and energy. They blame these programs to distract us — because they would rather keep corporate profits high than fund the things that actually help us feed our families. They know it, and we know it!

What can we do?

The president alone cannot control inflation. President Biden has no authority to unilaterally issue orders to lower food prices, and a few lawmakers in Congress have blocked meaningful Congressional action.

Advocates at NETWORK’s “Care Not Cuts” rally in Long Island last year. From left to right: Fr Frank Pizzarelli, Sr. Tesa Fitzgerald, Angel Reyes, Serena Martin-Liguori, Monique Fitzgerald

But we can demand better! Together, we will ensure that Congress supports affordable, nutritious food for us and our communities.

As a multi-issue voter, you can ask your elected officials and the candidates on your ballot:

1. Will they ensure that freedom from hunger is an essential right for all of us by fully funding food assistance programs, including:

  • The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including its Thrifty Food Plan that protects SNAP benefits from rising food inflation? 
  • School lunches, elderly meals, soup kitchens, and food banks? 
  • The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which offers basic nutrition for pregnant people, new parents, and babies?

2. Will they stop rewarding the executives of mega-corporations and their wealthy shareholders at the expense of ordinary workers and their families by:

  • Reversing excessive Trump administration’s 2017 tax bill benefits for big corporations?
  • Imposing needed measures to curb excessive CEO and executive compensation packages for profiteering companies?
  • Making the tax system fair for workers and their families, with stronger tax credits for children, childcare, and earned income?

3. Will they push the Federal Trade Commission to put the brakes on the monopolization in big agribusiness and protect small farmers and sellers?

Vote Our Future logoAnd then, of course, VOTE! Head to NETWORK’s Be a Voter page to check your voter registration status, find your voting information, make a voting plan, and tell your family and friends to vote, too!

Together, we will make Freedom from Hunger a reality for all of us, no exceptions! We will ensure that our nation’s food industry isn’t about feeding corporate profits, but about feeding our communities.

See NETWORK’s Food Prices One-Pager Here:
YALL Food Prices One-Pager FINAL
Sources

Head to these links to learn more about the real reasons for rising food costs:

https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2023/january/complex-supply-chains-bottlenecks-and-inflation

https://time.com/6139127/u-s-food-prices-monopoly/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-is-cooling-the-gop-wants-you-to-remember-its-up-179-since-biden-took-office-152408852.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/us/politics/republicans-inflation-federal-reserve-powell.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/politics/inflation-gop-fact-check/index.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2022/05/10/how-windfall-profits-have-supercharged-food-inflation/

 

 

Take Action After Watching White Supremacy in American Christianity

White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 5

We Choose Freedom
Register for White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 5

Discussion Guide

Bring the discussion to your community with a resource guide designed by NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization team.

Download the Guide

TAKE ACTION!

Visit the 2024 Vote Our Future nonpartisan election resources at our NETWORK Advocates website

SIGN UP

What is White Christian Nationalism?

NETWORK partner, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), released a joint project with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) detailing Christian nationalism’s prominence in the January 6 insurrection. In it, Amanda Taylor of BJC shares, “Christian nationalism is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to merge American and Christian identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism relies on the mythological founding of the United States as a ‘Christian nation,’ singled out for God’s providence in order to fulfill God’s purposes on earth. Christian nationalism demands a privileged place for Christianity in public life, buttressed by the active support of government at all levels.

Christian nationalism is not Christianity, though it is not accurate to say that Christian nationalism has nothing to do with Christianity. Christian nationalism relies on Christian imagery and language.”

Watch Previous White Supremacy and American Christianity Conversations

White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 4

With previous discussion laying out the roots, influences, and threats to democracy posed by white supremacy in our churches and politics, Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, Dr. Robert P. Jones, and NETWORK’s Joan F. Neal looked to the future and explored how we the U.S. can move beyond Christian nationalism. And young adult justice-seekers shared how they connect their work for democracy to their faith. White Supremacy and American Christianity: Moving Towards Beloved Community was a special conversation, focused on the future and the possibility of a vibrant, multi-faith, multi-racial democracy where every person can thrive, without exception.

White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 3

In October 2023, ethics professor Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, author Robert P. Jones, and NETWORK’s Joan F. Neal gathered for White Supremacy and American Christianity: A Consistent Ethic of Hate Threatens Our Democracy. The country was on the precipice of a budget crisis. House extremists didn’t want to negotiate, they wanted a government shutdown–they were a threat to our democracy. Their actions, rooted in white supremacy and Christian nationalism, were positioned to harm those they view as other: Black and Brown citizens and non-English speaking Black and Brown immigrants. Instead of building a pluralistic democracy, they aimed to diminish the progress and presence of non-white people in our country and throw our government into chaos.

White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 2

In October 2022, ethics professor Fr. Bryan N. Massingale and author Robert P. Jones participated in an enlightening conversation ahead of this year’s midterm for an exploration on the influence of  White Supremacy in American Christianity on our politics. The conversation was moderated by NETWORK’s Joan F. Neal.

White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 1

In April 2022, NETWORK engaged experts working at the intersection of racism, nationalism, and Christianity for a conversation on the poisonous effect that White Supremacy has on American Christianity. Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, Dr. Robert P. Jones, and NETWORK’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Equity Officer Joan F. Neal were joined by Georgetown University’s Dr. Marcia Chatelain.

White Supremacy and American Christianity Guest Speakers

Darcy Hirsh is the Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy at Interfaith Alliance, (Part 3) where she leads the organization’s policy work at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as its critical advocacy in the courts.

Dr. Robert P. Jones is the President and Founder of PRRI, and author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. Robert P. Jones speaks and writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion in national media outlets including CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Dr. Robert Jones’s latest book is a New York Times best-seller. You can buy it here: The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future and follow Dr. Jones through his newsletter at https://www.whitetoolong.net/.

Fr. Bryan Massingale is the James and Nancy Buckman Professor of Theological and Social Ethics, as well as the Senior Ethics Fellow in Fordham’s Center for Ethics Education and author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. Fr. Massingale is a noted authority on social and racial justice issues, particularly in Catholic spaces. Read Fr. Massingale’s Op-Ed in National Catholic Reporter, “As the election cycle cranks up, Christians need to call out white Christian nationalism” and his keynote address at the 2022 Outreach Conference: “Intersectionality and LGBTQ Ministry”

Professor Marcia Chatelain, Ph.D., is the winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History (Part 1) her book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. She is a professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University and the leading organizer behind the #FergusonSyllabus, an online educational resource that has shaped educational conversations about racism and police brutality since 2014. 

You've Seen the Conversation, Now What Can You Do?

Note: These were actions to take after White Supremacy and American Christianity, Part 2 in Fall 2022.

Pray for Reparations during Black History Month 2023

A federal reparations commission must be established by March 2023 to allow 18 months of work (as prescribed in H.R.40) to be completed without risk of a new administration disbanding it. We must pray!

In November 2022, Jewish and Christian faith leaders gave spirited calls for reparations to finally repair the harm that racist policy and laws unleashed during and after slavery. Storytellers from the field shared why their communities deserve redress for education, homes, and more loss because of racist government action.

Learn why reparations are needed now. NETWORK staff and keynote speaker, Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Ph.D, tell us the history of H.R.40, give us Christianity’s faith foundation for reparations, and help us learn to talk to friends and family about race and reparations. Reparations can heal the economic prosperity divide and lingering pain from Jim Crow, disenfranchisement, discrimination in tax policy, biased home lending, restrictive covenants and more.

Keep Up with NETWORK

Just Politics Catholic Podcast Season 2

Presidential Debate Bingo!

2024 Presidential Debate Bingo!

Use NETWORK’s BINGO card to follow along the Presidential Debate on September 10

September 5, 2024

Who doesn’t like a good game of bingo while watching a debate?!

Presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will have their first debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 10 at 9:00 PM EDT on ABC. You can also watch the debate on Disney+ and Hulu.

Join NETWORK, our partners, and advocates across the country in watching the debate and playing BINGO along the way! While most bingo cards contain numbered squares, NETWORK’s nonpartisan bingo card features policies and actions that will bring us toward a future where everyone thrives, no exceptions. As you watch the debate, mark off any squares on your bingo card that you hear a candidate mention!  

Download and print out the 2024 Presidential Debate Bingo Card.

The 2024 election poses a critical choice to our country: will we choose a future where everyone thrives? You can use the bingo card to help you track what the candidates have to say on the issues, and discern how your vote will protect and expand a flourishing, multiracial, multi-faith democracy for all.

Don’t forget to let us know on social media if you score a BINGO! Post a photo of your bingo card and tag us at @network_lobby on Instagram or @NETWORKLobby on Facebook, and use hashtags like #MultiIssueVoter or #VoteOurFuture.

Download and print out the 2024 Presidential Debate Bingo Card.

Learn more about the issues and freedoms at stake this election with NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Checklist.

After you watch the debate… 

Vote Our Future logoMake a plan to VOTE! Head to NETWORK’s Be a Voter page to check your voter registration status, find your voting information, make a voting plan, and tell your family and friends to vote, too!

 

 

Welcome, Y.A.L.L.

Welcome, Y.A.L.L.

Young Advocates Leadership Lab Promotes Political Engagement on College Campuses

Jane Sutter
September 5, 2024

Baylee Fingerhut, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, is one of ten students in NETWORK’s new Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.) Y.A.L.L. serves as a training space for faithful young adults to build the skills needed to be advocates for justice in the world today. Photo: Min. Christian Watkins.

When Baylee Fingerhut, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, read about a new program seeking college students to become advocates for social justice, she was intrigued.

“I thought how amazing it would be to be a part of that, not just something that would help me grow my professional skills and help me network but to be part of something so impactful, like this inaugural group of youth leaders who want to go out and advocate and make a change,” she says.

Fingerhut is part of the first cohort of ten students in NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab. Y.A.L.L. is a leadership and advocacy skills development program for college students, serving as a training space for faithful young adults to build the skills needed to be advocates for justice.

Building Up Y.A.L.L.

 

Over the years, NETWORK has offered training for college students, but Y.A.L.L. offers a new, deeper level of engagement with young justice seekers. It’s a natural outgrowth of NETWORK’s vision to mobilize a diverse national movement of justice-seekers.

For Fingerhut, a public policy major, the opportunity to participate in Y.A.L.L. has given her the opportunity to both advocate for others and “do the grassroots, boots-on-the-ground work” such as registering fellow students to vote and having conversations with students about why their vote matters, she says.

Choosing the ten students for the inaugural class of Y.A.L.L. was a competitive process as 60 students applied, according to Chelsea Puckett, NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Outreach and Education Specialist, who acts as the convenor and staff liaison for the program.

Recruitment involved outreach to Catholic Sisters, advocates, and colleges where NETWORK had a relationship, as well as utilizing online tools for making professional connections with college students.

“We wanted to build a cohort of people to adhere to NETWORK’s mission of working for justice and equity for all people,” Puckett says.

Diversity of all kinds was an important factor. Not all the students are Catholic, but as part of the interview process, students were asked how their values, faith, or morals drive their advocacy work.

“We wanted to be inclusive of all different belief systems and backgrounds,” Puckett says.

Y.A.L.L. runs in two 13-week phases. The first phase took place from March into May, followed by a summer hiatus. The second phase will run from August into November. Each student commits to five hours per week and receives a competitive stipend.

Engaging With College Students

Katie Crump, left, and Anna Kopsick of the University of Dayton pose with the 2024 Equally Sacred Checklist, the central resource of NETWORK’s voter education campaign. Crump, class of 2025, is a member of NETWORK’s Y.A.L.L. cohort.

With Y.A.L.L.’s focus in 2024 being voter education and mobilization, in the spring, students hosted voter registration drives on their campuses, staffing tables in prominent campus locations, such as outside a student center or inside a cafeteria. They used the opportunity to introduce the 2024 Equally Sacred Checklist, NETWORK’s multi-issue voter education resource, to their peers.

At Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Y.A.L.L. leader Kaila Crouch and Puckett helped students check online to see if they were registered to vote.

“It’s something you don’t really think about until, unfortunately, it might be too late,” Crouch says. She notes that students who registered to vote at the Y.A.L.L. table seemed relieved and made comments such as, “Wow. I’m happy this is checked off on my list of things to do.”

Crouch, who will return to campus in the fall to study for an MBA, and Puckett also visited a leadership and development class of senior students to discuss multi-issue voting.

Y.A.L.L. participant Imani McClammy, majoring in political science at Barry University in Miami, Fla., enjoyed teaching fellow students about multi-issue voting, quoting a line she learned from Puckett: “We’re multi-issue voters because we live multi-issue lives.” She told students how true that is. “I care about housing, I care about education, I care about minimum wage. These are all things that impact our lives.”

Imani McClammy, class of 2026, Barry University, Miami

Participating in the Y.A.L.L. program has been revelatory, several participants say. Theresa Lindberg, a freshman majoring in English literature and Spanish at Mt. Mary University in Milwaukee, Wis., says she discovered in talking with students that “some people just are not going to be interested in voting.”

McClammy says she believes the biggest challenge on her campus is explaining to students why voting matters. When she hears students say, “I don’t like politics,” she tries to explain: “Your life is full of political issues, even if you don’t think so.” McClammy researches laws or potential legislation to use as examples of what affects students’ lives, and she encourages them to find out what legislation the candidates support.

Puckett says the on-campus experience has been revealing. “Students are busy people,” she notes. “To hear what issues matter to them based on what they’re studying or their lived experiences was really insightful as we continue this work with young people.”

Breaking Through the Noise

Chelsea Puckett of NETWORK assists a student during an on-campus voter registration event at the University of Mount Mary in Milwaukee. Y.A.L.L. events on campuses will focus on voter awareness and engagement.

A key part of the Y.A.L.L. initiative is the weekly virtual trainings offered to the participants and conducted mostly by NETWORK staff. For the spring effort, students participated in a variety of workshops, including how to conduct a voter registration drive, multi-issue voting, breaking through the election noise, deep canvassing and door knocking, and appropriate use of social media.

One key training was on how to have difficult conversations with fellow students who have different viewpoints. The Y.A.L.L. participants did roleplay to practice, Puckett says.

Lindberg says those exercises were valuable “because we live in such a polarized country.” McClammy agreed. “Doing that workshop helped me more in having those difficult conversations and always finding a way to tie it back to Y.A.L.L.’s mission—being multi-issue voters.”

Y.A.L.L. participants also spent time in the spring laying the groundwork for campus initiatives in the fall. This included forming partnerships with appropriate student groups, campus ministries, and political science professors. The core mission for the fall will be get-out-the-vote efforts, so students are planning voter registration drives at orientation events for freshmen and transfer students. They’ll also knock on doors in student housing and off-campus apartments.

Ishara Baez, a student in the class of 2025 at the University of Mount St. Vincent in the Bronx, NY, is among the ten students participating in NETWORK’s Y.A.L.L. program.

Y.A.L.L. students will inquire if students have a plan to vote and if they have a way to get to the polls. For those hesitant to get involved in the democratic process, students will use their conversational skills to try to convince them to do so.

Puckett notes that NETWORK’s involvement on campuses has been met with a warm welcome. “We plan for these to be sustainable relationships over many, many years,” she says. A new cohort will be selected for 2025, Puckett says.

Fingerhut, at St. Joseph’s University, says she already had some background in Catholic social justice, having learned about it in classes, but she had never seen a tie-in with politics. Participating in Y.A.L.L. has been “transformative to see it come to life on a stage such as a federal election.”

Learn more about NETWORK’s Young Advocates Leadership Lab (Y.A.L.L.) here. 

 

Jane Sutter is a freelance journalist based in Rochester, N.Y., and is part of the NETWORK Advocates team in New York State.

This story was published in the Quarter 3 2024 issue of Connection.

 

The Many Over the Money

The Many Over the Money

NETWORK’s Non-Partisan Voter Education Series Shows the Power of People Uniting

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP
August 15, 2024

Sr. Emily TeKolste, SP, center, visits St. Gertrude Catholic Church in Chicago for a NETWORK election year training on April 14. Also pictured, left to right, are Vic and Mary Doucette from NETWORK’s Chicago team, Ken Brucks, and Sr. Eilis McCulloh, HM. Sr. Emily is NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Coordinator.

From Indiana to California, from New Jersey to Texas, NETWORK Advocates across the nation want to build a world where everyone thrives, no exceptions. And they’re showing up. My colleagues and I have been privileged to work with wonderful advocates — NETWORK mainstays and new faces alike — who have attended online and in-person trainings to build skills and explore a variety of ways they can talk about the issues that matter to them and help their neighbors participate in our democracy this election.

We know we’re facing some big obstacles: a few ultrawealthy people are pouring big money into organizations trying to divide us over issues like immigration and rights for people in the LGBTQ+ community. They know that when we’re working against each other, we can’t see the ways they’re working to get big tax breaks for themselves and their ultra-wealthy friends — leaving the rest of us with few resources and struggling communities.

This election year, we’re coming together from across the country and across our many differences of race, age, and gender to build the skills we need to unite our nation around our shared values.

In April and May, the NETWORK team hosted two rounds of a four-week online training series. We talked about the many issues that matter to us when we consider candidates. We explored ways to talk about our issues that can help others see them as important — both in interpersonal conversations and in the ways that we contribute to the public narratives in our nation. Lastly, we explored other ways to get involved — everything from serving as poll workers to hosting ballot research parties.

We’ve also been hosting in-person trainings. These three-hour interactive workshops cover some of the content from the online trainings and give participants opportunities to practice and strengthen their skills even further.

Attendees have been thrilled by the skill-building opportunities and energized by the hope of being in community. Alice from California said, “Your sessions give direct, usable, doable actions for anyone who wants it. When we apply the information, results happen.” Sr. Mary Jo from Wisconsin said, “I wanted more hope in regards to this election. You provided it. Thank you.”

Vote Our Future logo

The Vote Our Future logo of NETWORK’s 2024 voter education campaign

Participants practiced talking about our visions for a future in which everyone thrives and learned about the policies that are helping us get there — recent victories like the largest investment in climate change prevention in U.S. history through the Inflation Reduction Act and the largest cut in child poverty in over 50 years through the American Rescue Plan.

They learned skills like deep listening and storytelling that help reshape people’s perspectives in one-on-one conversations and transformative narrative-building through the Race Class Narrative framework. Finally, they explored ways to get going on the ground, and many have signed up to be poll workers, committed to hosting voter registration drives, and much more.

As NETWORK has always done, we approach this election year with hope and welcome. From Nuns on the Bus to the 2022 Pope Francis Voter Tour to everyday conversations with policymakers in Congress, NETWORK staff and NETWORK advocates are transforming our politics by boldly declaring that all people deserve to have what they need to thrive. And we can get there when we go together — when we overcome the attempts to divide us by race, gender, and creed — and declare that all people are made in the image and likeness of God, who came that we “may have life and have it more abundantly.”

Like Alice and Sr. Mary Jo, we know that hope is an active virtue, and when we take action together, the many can defeat the money.

This is how we show up for each other, creating a world where nobody goes hungry, where people have access to safe and reliable shelter, good-paying jobs, and the ability to contribute to their communities. Together, we will vote our future so that everyone thrives — no exceptions!

This story was published in the Quarter 3 2024 issue of Connection.

 

Want to join in the action? Are you in the Louisville, KY area?  Register today for “Informed, Engaged, and Committed: NETWORK’s 2024 Election Year Training,” happening Saturday, Aug. 24, 8:30 am – 12 pm EDT, at Epiphany Catholic Church in Louisville. See you there!