Our 50-Year Justice Journey

Trinity College
Forty-seven women religious gather at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. to discuss the call to work for justice through the political system and decide to form NETWORK, the first Catholic social justice lobby in the United States.
The ERA
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) passes the Senate and is sent to the states for ratification. NETWORK will lobby for the ERA’s passage for the next ten years.
Legislative Seminar is Born
NETWORK publishes its first newsletter, held an issue referendum, and trained 150 participants in political ministry during NETWORK’s first summer Legislative Seminar.
NETWORK’s Summer Legislative Seminars
During the summers, NETWORK organized legislative seminars in Washington to train advocates for justice, attracting hundreds of participants from across the country. These trainings not only taught participants about the legislative process and NETWORK’s policy areas, but were also critical for building relationships between justice-seekers in the field and NETWORK staff. Over the years, the Legislative Seminars drew speakers and participants such as Sen. Ted Kennedy, Rep. Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Mikulski, Rev. Henri Nouwen, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Margaret Farley, RSM, and Fr. Robert Drinan.
“A political ministry… asks us to bring our single-minded commitment to justice and peace into the center of a complex political process.”
– Rev. Henri J.M. Nouwen, Clare Dunn, CSJ, and Judith Lovchik, CSJ, NETWORK Quarterly, Fall 1976
Educational Program introduced
Ann (Sampson) Dunn is hired, NETWORK’s first non-Sister on staff, and the NETWORK Educational Program is incorporated.