Just Politics

For years, politicians in the United States have invoked the rhetoric of being "pro-family." But what does that really mean? For justice-seekers, it means policies and policy proposals that would help families to flourish: the Child Tax Credit, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Medicaid expansion, and others. In this episode, we talk to a longtime champion of pro-family policy on Capitol Hill: Rep. Rosa DeLauro. DeLauro, who represents Connecticut's third congressional district, shares why these policies are so important to her and how her Catholic faith informs her advocacy. Being pro-family also means being pro-woman, and Sister Robbie Pentecost, O.S.F. shares about her encounters with women whose lives are touched and transformed by the New Opportunity School for Women in Berea, Kentucky.

You can learn more about this episode's guests and pro-family policies in these links:

The New Opportunity School for Women https://nosw.org/

South Dakota passes Medicaid expansion https://khn.org/news/article/south-dakota-vote-medicaid-expansion-implementation/

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act https://networklobby.org/03182021pwfa/

Rep. Rosa DeLauro's book on how her Catholic faith informs her policy positions https://thenewpress.com/books/least-among-us

Why Congress should pass the fully refundable Child Tax Credit https://networklobby.org/congress-must-pass-a-fully-refundable-child-tax-credit-before-the-new-year/

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press. https://www.loyolapress.com/

Why do people in the United States struggle with the idea of calling something racist? Sister Emily, Sister Eilis, Joan, and Colin explore America's troubled relationship with confronting racism, not as a relic of an earlier era but as a present-day evil that is part of both religion and politics in the United States. Since November is Black Catholic History Month, they talk to Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Patricia Rogers, who shares her insight as a Black Catholic sister and a community leader in Milwaukee's Amani neighborhood. This episode also features an extended clip from NETWORK's recent White Supremacy and American Christianity event, in which Just Politics co-host Joan Neal moderated a conversation between Father Bryan Massingale of Fordham University and Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute.

You can learn more at these links:

The Dominican Center in Milwaukee works with Amani neighborhood residents and partners to build a better future. Sister Patricia Rogers served as its executive director for 10 years. https://www.dominican-center.org/ https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2021/06/08/milwaukees-sister-patricia-rogers-retires-nonprofit-amani/7543330002/

Listen to an extended interview with Sister Patricia Rogers. https://networklobby.org/black-sisters-testify-full-length-interview-with-sinsinawa-dominican-sr-patricia-rogers/

Watch the full recording of NETWORK's October 29 conversation on White Supremacy and American Christianity between Father Bryan Massingale and Robert P. Jones, moderated by Joan Neal. https://networklobby.org/actions-to-take-to-after-watching-white-supremacy-in-christianity/

Watch NETWORK's previous half-day conference on White Supremacy and American Christianity also featuring Father Bryan Massingale and Robert P. Jones held in April 2022. https://networklobby.org/uschristianityconvo/watch/

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press. https://www.loyolapress.com/

Just Politics celebrates Halloween by confronting some of the scariest elements of our pre-election season: election deniers running for the statewide offices that will oversee future elections; threats of political violence; and the embrace of Christian nationalism by many people. Joan Neal discusses these threats with the Rev. Christian Watkins, who leads NETWORK's efforts to defend democracy through policymaking and advocacy.

Sister Emily TeKolste peels back the scary resurgence of Christian nationalism by looking at the ugly history of white supremacist political violence in the United States.

And on a happier note, we hear from you! Throughout NETWORK's Pope Francis Voter Tour, we heard from hundreds of people of faith and goodwill committed to protecting and building up our democracy. This episode includes a roundup of "Pope Francis Voter" testimonials.

You can learn more at these links:

Read more about the faith-filled push to save democracy this year. https://networklobby.org/faith-filled-push-save-democracy/

Here's FiveThirtyEight's breakdown of candidates seeking office this year who deny the result of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/republicans-trump-election-fraud/

The Brennan Center for Justice is tracking state voting laws. https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform/state-voting-laws

In addition to Sister Emily TeKolste's reflection in this episode, read what she wrote earlier this year about the need to die to white supremacy. https://networklobby.org/be-alive-in-christ-to-die-to-white-supremacy/

Read Joan Neal's reflection on the importance of voting and democracy. https://networklobby.org/the-theology-of-voting-our-vote-is-our-voice/

From U.S. Catholic: "Government for the people needs to be for everyone," by Meghan J. Clark. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202210/government-for-the-people-needs-to-be-for-everyone/

From our last episode, revisit Sister Erin Zubal's pre-election prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GdW-1TdkvY

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press. https://www.loyolapress.com/

As the 2022 midterm elections near, Sister Emily, Sister Eilis, Joan, and Colin discuss the importance of being a "Pope Francis Voter"—a multi-issue voter willing to do the work to build and protect an inclusive democracy where every person can flourish. Pope Francis calls concern for poverty, environmental destruction, and other issues "equally sacred" to the care for the unborn that is central to the political engagement of so many Catholics, especially in the United States. That's why NETWORK is currently traveling to cities across the United States on the Pope Francis Voter Tour, helping spread word that when people of faith limit their advocacy to only one or two issues, they enable the division, extremism, and obstructionism that do so much harm in our politics.

In this episode, Joan dialogues with NETWORK's executive director, Mary J. Novak, about the breadth of the vision of Catholic social justice and how Catholic sisters have continually lived it in their ministry in the 60 years since the start of the Second Vatican Council. And Sister Eilis and Colin speak with Sister Pegge Boehm, P.B.V.M., Sister Teresa Wolf, O.S.B., and Cathy Brechtlesbauer, three organizers of the Love Your Neighbor Tour, an effort to get Medicaid expansion passed via a ballot initiative in South Dakota. The sisters on this tour made 25 stops in the span of five days, sharing with their fellow South Dakotans how expanding Medicaid will benefit so many people in their state.

Ursuline Sister Erin Zubal, NETWORK's chief of staff, closes this episode with a pre-election prayer, speaking to the anxiety and uncertainty so many people feel in our politics today.

You can learn more in the links below.

Pope Francis Voter Tour https://networklobby.org/network-launches-pope-francis-voter-tour/

Equally Sacred Checklist https://networklobby.org/equallysacred

White Supremacy and American Christianityhttps://www.mobilize.us/network/event/522133/

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment D to expand Medicaid eligibility https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/upcoming-elections/general-information/2022-ballot-questions.aspx

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press https://www.loyolapress.com/

With the help of NETWORK's historian, Mara Rutten, we explore the 50-year history of U.S. Catholic sisters' involvement in political advocacy as part of their vocations. This includes the founding of NETWORK in the early 1970s and continues down to the present day.

Sister Eilis, Sister Emily, and Colin also chat with two of NETWORK's past leaders: Sister, Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Nancy Sylvester and Sister of Social Service Simone Campbell. These women led the organization for a combined 27 years (1982–1992, 2004–2021). Sylvester describes the cultural currents and influence of NETWORK's early years, including the Second Vatican Council and the civil rights era. Campbell, who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Biden, reflects on her time leading NETWORK, including her most famous contribution: the Nuns on the Bus.

You can find more information about the history of NETWORK as well as some of the articles mentioned in this episode in these links:

The history of NETWORK https://networklobby.org/about/history/

The timeline of NETWORK https://networklobby.org/network50/timeline

"Action of the Spirit" By Sister Mara Rutten, R.S.M. https://networklobby.org/action-of-the-spirit/

Octogesima Adveniens (A Call to Action) By Pope Paul VI https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_letters/documents/hf_p-vi_apl_19710514_octogesima-adveniens.html

"Justice in the World" A document of the World Synod of Catholic Bishops, 1971 https://www.cctwincities.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Justicia-in-Mundo.pdf

"'Nuns on the Bus' protesting Ryan budget" By Sarah Muller https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nuns-bus-protesting-ryan-budget-flna828789

Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue https://iccdinstitute.org/

"President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom" https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/

"Bread and Roses" Performed by SongRise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iOIR_aXX7U

Closing theme music by SongRise https://songrisedc.org/

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press https://www.loyolapress.com/

Sister of Providence Emily TeKolste and Sister of the Humility of Mary, Eilis McCulloh are both based in the Midwest and serve on the Grassroots Mobilization team at the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. In conversation with NETWORK deputy executive director and chief equity officer Joan F. Neal and grassroots outreach and education coordinator Colin Martinez Longmore, they delve into the question of how faith is a necessary force for good in politics.

While there are plenty of examples of how faith and politics can be mixed badly—the democracy-imperiling rise of Christian nationalism chief among them—NETWORK embraces a vision of Catholic Social Justice for educating, organizing, and lobbying to promote the common good.

In this episode, we also hear from Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, a Catholic and the longest-serving woman currently in Congress, on the value of voices of faith in the political process. NETWORK's grassroots mobilization director, Meg Olson, shares her own justice journey into faith-based advocacy. And Laura Peralta-Schulte, senior director of public policy and government relations, offers a survey of the many issues and pieces of legislation where justice-seekers can get involved.

You can find further reading on how politics can serve the common good in the links below:

"Catherine Pinkerton's Sister Spirit Legacy" By Julia Morris https://networklobby.org/catherine-pinkertons-sister-spirt-legacy/

"Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Celebrates NETWORK Lobby's Legacy of Connecting the Common Good to Politics" By Marcy Kaptur https://networklobby.org/congresswoman-marcy-kaptur-celebrates-network-lobbys-legacy-of-connecting-the-common-good-to-politics/

"Pope calls faithful to pray, participate actively in politics" https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/28058/pope-calls-faithful-to-pray-participate-actively-in-politics

"New Agreement Would Advance Healthcare, Tax Justice, and Climate Protections" By Laura Peralta-Schulte https://networklobby.org/new-agreement-would-advance-healthcare-tax-justice-and-climate-protections/

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1065

Closing theme music by SongRise https://songrisedc.org/

Just Politics is sponsored by Loyola Press. https://www.loyolapress.com/

What does a better kind of politics look like and how can we make it a reality? In this podcast, Catholic sisters and their coworkers at NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice answer this question with a variety of guests. From the border to the federal budget, the pews to the polls, join us to explore the intersection of Catholic teaching and politics.

Just Politics is a collaboration between U.S. Catholic and NETWORK Lobby.

New episode every two weeks.