NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

From Congress to community kitchens—Coston Fellows lead for justice everywhere. ☀️

Paid, 5hr/week fellowship • $25/hr
Two fully funded DC trips
Organizing + advocacy skills for life

Students + mentors: Registration opens Sept 1
🔗 www.networkadvocates.org/yall/sister-...

📰 Ya salió el zine en español!

La nueva ley del presupuesto afecta a nuestras comunidades inmigrantes y recorta programas esenciales. Este reel muestra cómo doblarlo y compartirlo. ✂️📄

📥 Descárgalo aquí: networklobby.org/economy-for-...

Fighting for: Voting Rights Leadership Conference Education Fund

The vote isn’t just a tool. It’s a prayer for justice, cast by generations before us, compelling us today too.

On the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, honor their legacy: Demand Congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

🔗 civilrights.quorum.us/campaign/110...

Advocacy looks different when students and educators do it together. ☀

The Young Advocates Leadership Lab (YALL) and the Sr. Carol Coston Fellowship train student leaders. Our Educator Advocates Team supports faculty and staff who accompany them.

Learn More: networkadvocates.org/yall

Laurie Carafone inaugurates a new chapter for NETWORK Lobby Laurie Carafone shares her journey from advocating for unaccompanied children seeking asylum to leading a Catholic social justice lobby founded by Catholic sisters.

Our season finale of Just Politics is here 🎧 Meet Laurie Carafone, NETWORK’s new executive director. From protecting unaccompanied kids to leading a Catholic lobby, her journey is one of courage and faith.

Listen now → uscatholic.org/articles/202...

White House AI Plan Should Concern Justice-Seekers - NETWORK Lobby White House AI Plan clashes with Catholic Social Justice in several critical areas, including the common good and the dignity of work.

Technology should serve people, not replace them.

Pope Leo XIV is sounding the alarm, and justice-seekers must pay attention.

✝️ Read our Catholic Social Teaching–centered response to the White House AI Plan:
📖 networklobby.org/ai-action-ju...

White House AI Plan Should Concern Justice-Seekers - NETWORK Lobby White House AI Plan clashes with Catholic Social Justice in several critical areas, including the common good and the dignity of work.

The White House’s AI plan removes bias protections and pushes deregulation.

Pope Leo XIV warns: “AI raises troubling questions about our ability to grasp reality.”

Our faith calls us to more.
📖 networklobby.org/ai-action-ju...

The new federal budget delays devastating Medicaid cuts—on purpose.

🎥 Laura Peralta-Schulte explains how and why it matters.

Medicaid isn’t just policy. It’s a lifeline—and a moral issue.

🎧 Full bonus episode of Just Politics drops next week.

At a time when ICE is detaining more people than ever before in history – and reports of mistreatment, overcrowding & unsanitary conditions are growing – real-time oversight has never been more important.

This admin cannot hide from Congress or the American people. We will make sure of it in court.

Medicaid turns 60 today.
Catholic Sisters helped shape it. Their faith—and ours—calls us to protect it.

🎥 Laura Peralta-Schulte of NETWORK shares why Medicaid is sacred work.

🎧 Bonus episode of Just Politics coming next week!

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is back in the Senate, just days before the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
As Rep. Lewis said, “The vote is precious. It is almost sacred.”

Let’s pass this bill and defend the dignity of every voter. #JLVRAA

Fold it. Share it. Organize with it.
This zine explains the harms of the new federal budget bill—and how it threatens care for our neighbors.

Watch the reel to learn how to fold & distribute. 📰✂️

networklobby.org/economy-for-...

👏 Big congratulations to NETWORK Fellow Ralph McCloud, who was honored this weekend with Pax Christi USA’s Eileen Egan Peacemaker Award for his prophetic leadership in justice and peace.

Practicing the active virtue of hope in a time of crisis Hope is what keeps us able to continue fighting for the liberation of all creation during political and social turmoil.

“Hope isn’t a platitude — it’s an act of resistance.”

In @sistersreport, our Sr. Emily shares what keeps her going in the face of fear, ICE raids, and budget cuts: community, grief, and grounded action.

📖 www.globalsistersreport.org/columns/soci...

Activists rally for organizations feeding those in need at Gridley Park A rally focused on hunger issues in Erie County was organized by Network Erie on Thursday night. Activists gathered in Gridley Park to listen to a number of speakers from agencies in Erie County th…

Erie Advocates are showing up.

Last week’s Gridley Park rally spotlighted the impact of federal budget cuts on food access — as local need has jumped 40%.

📍 Erie, PA
📰 www.yourerie.com/news/local-n...

60 years ago, Medicaid changed the landscape of care in this country. Now, as it faces historic cuts, we’re honoring this lifesaving program with 60 hours of action, stories, and community.

Join us as we continue to fight for our care.

protectmedicaidvigil.com

Write a letter to your Members of Congress with thanks or lament for the Big Bad Budget vote Members of Congress voted against or for the Big Bad Budget bill, and with their vote they made a choice to serve the common good that NETWORK's faith-filled justice-seekers pursue, or they voted on t...

📬 Tell Congress: Stop funding ICE abuses. End mass detention now.

Write a letter today: actionnetwork.org/campaigns/le...

Trump's DHS: Unaccountable, Unlawful, and Unconstitutional YouTube video by Rep. Seth Magaziner

📺 Full hearing replay: www.youtube.com/live/8pcUwut...

This is about human dignity. We need oversight and accountability—not more detention.

Rep. Dan Goldman was denied entry to a DHS facility.
“It may not be called a detention center—but the conditions meet the definition.”

He noted that 67% of those detained have not been convicted of any crime.

💬 Karla Marie Ostolaza, @bronxdefender.bsky.social :
“Our clients report overcrowding, medical neglect, no access to legal counsel. This isn’t normal. It’s terrifying.”

📈 The FY25 reconciliation bill includes $45 BILLION for ICE detention—enough to hold 100,000 people per day.

Private prison companies are lobbying hard to make it happen.

⚖️ Sirine Shebaya, @nipnlg.bsky.social :
“Two mothers with U.S. citizen children were disappeared during check-ins. Limited access to legal counsel. This is lawless.”

🎙️ Alejandro Barranco, U.S. Marine veteran, shared the pain of watching his father—Narciso, a landscaper with no criminal record—violently detained by ICE.

No family should go through this

📢 Yesterday, Members of Congress held a powerful hearing exposing ICE’s ongoing abuses—from racial profiling to the deportation of U.S. citizen children.
Our team was present to bear witness.

Here’s what we saw 🧵

Families First! · Families First Mobilizations on Mobilize On July 26, Americans in every corner of the country will come together in peaceful marches, rallies, and actions to say: our families come first—not billionaires, not authoritarians, and not corrupt ...

NOT ONE MORE.
—Not one more child hungry.
—Not one more elder without meds.
—Not one more family left behind.

July 26 → We rise for #FamiliesFirst.

📍 Join us: www.mobilize.us/familiesfirst/

Why We Need An Economy for All - NETWORK Lobby This election year, students are helping each other vote for their freedoms on issues like housing, health care, student debt, and climate.

“We can afford to care for our people—and we must.”

From the border to the budget, our Economy for All agenda is rooted in faith and driven by justice.

Read the new Connection blog → networklobby.org/connection-e...

After the Budget Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Common Home — and How We Respond - NETWORK Lobby NETWORK responds to the budget bill climate impact with faith-driven action to protect clean air, water, and our Common Home.

The climate impact of the budget bill is real:
❌ Clean energy funds slashed
❌ Water protections rolled back
❌ Environmental justice ignored
Pope Francis reminds us: the climate crisis is a moral crisis. Our faith demands a response.

☀️ Read more: networklobby.org/budget-bill-...

From Ohio to Capitol Hill, our advocates showed up for the #JohnLewisDayOfAction—calling for voting rights, immigrant justice, and care for all. ☀️

Faith in action. Democracy in motion.

President Trump’s latest move? Trying to take back $9.4B in funding Congress already approved, threatening public media, global health, & emergency systems.

📖 In our latest blog, Jarrett Smith explains why faith voices must respond.

🔗 Read more: networklobby.org/rescission-a...

On #RuralTransitDay, we’re reminded that care for creation and our neighbor go hand in hand. Clean, reliable transit for rural communities reduces emissions, connects people, and honors the dignity of all.

Transit justice is climate justice.