Bending the Arc references a quote by Rev. Dr. King who said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This digital newsletter from the CSA Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation office showcases the work of changemakers, opportunities to learn, and opportunities for you to help “bend the arc” toward justice. Full contents of the newsletter are published on this page.
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Common Language of Love
May 29, 2026
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) was invited to participate in North Fond du Lac School District’s Annual Multilingual Family Night earlier this month, May 13. Community organizations brought resource materials to engage with families and bring awareness to the programs they had to offer. Sisters Mary Rose Obholz, CSA and Sue Seeby, CSA are bilingual themselves and were happy to engage with the families that night.
Sister Mary Rose reported that “I, as a member of CSA and a member of various agencies, felt the impact of people who speak a common language - the Language of Love. This is reflected in mission statements that speak of human dignity. At the CSA table, our information was interspersed with Starburst candies. This was truly a symbol of being Star Bursters of connection with families and community leaders who seek to build positive relationships. The children delighted in taking the candy, some one piece at a time and some sought three or four. Each agency represented, gifted the families with presence and other energy builders. May we continue to speak that common language of love.“
Posted in
Equity & Human Dignity
Pope Leo Warns AI Needs to be Disarmed
May 29, 2026
It’s here! Pope Leo’s first encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas on Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence was released May 25, 2026. At 42,000 words, it is slightly longer than Laudato Si’. Watch the recorded launch and hear Leo’s message here.
This America Media article summarizes Pope Leo’s first encyclical and includes this 5-minute audio clip from Inside the Vatican podcast.
Born out of a process of listening from multiple sources, Magnifica Humanitas offers a disturbing conviction that “AI needs to be disarmed” and warns us AI could become a new “Tower of Babel,” sharing an apocalyptic vision of a world defined by greed, immorality and lack of respect for human life.
Pope Leo’s encyclical also addresses slavery. He apologies for the church’s legitimization of slavery in the past, its failure to denounce it earlier than it did, and highlights the “new forms of slavery” propagated by technological developments - including people condemned to data labeling, model training and content moderation, as well as those who labor to extract rare minerals for tech devices. He stated that Catholics cannot "deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery." Read more in this NCR article and follow up with this article from the Black Catholic Messenger.
Although Pope Francis had previously rejected invoking just war theory to justify “preventative” acts of war (in Fratelli Tutti), Leo’s statement goes further in asserting that technological developments have decidedly altered the moral conditions on which just war theory had been formed and calls it outdated. Read more in the NCR article.
Here is another review of Magnifica Humanitas by internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, Matthew Fox: https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/about-matthew-fox/
Rev. Cameron Trimble also writes about the new encyclical and offers reflection questions, prayer and spiritual practice in her daily post here.
The full encyclical is available to read online or can be purchased online from sites such as OSV.
Posted in
Equity & Human Dignity
Human Trafficking at Major Events
May 29, 2026
On May 21, 2026, the Alliance to End Human Trafficking offered the webinar, Beyond the Game: The Hidden Reality of Human Trafficking at Major Events. One of the panelists, Dough Gilmer, who was on the international Olympic committee for the World Games in Alabama in 2022, emphasized that education is key in tackling a lot of the misinformation about human trafficking. For one, the Super Bowl has been publicized as the most trafficked day of the year, yet there is no evidence to back this up. The truth is, any major event creates an opportunity for trafficking to flourish. Wherever there are people with money and low inhibitions, traffickers will also come to capitalize on the event. The truth is trafficking happens every day, everywhere, and often right in front of us. Some events are just given more attention, so yes, documentation happens.
How are we supposed to recognize trafficking? What are the shifts in trafficking patterns at large events? What are successful intervention and prevention efforts? Learn more by watching the recording of the webinar, available now here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFehdRlmBZY
You can check out additional resources to learn more about human trafficking in the sporting industry below:
For more information on the Alliance To End Human Trafficking or to support their efforts, visit https://alliancetoendhumantrafficking.org/
You can also register for their next event on Navigating Digital Threats: The Dirty Dozen and Online Exploitation Prevention, which will take place June 12 at 12 p.m. EST.
Posted in
Trafficking & Migration
Joint Statement on Attack at Islamic Center
May 22, 2026
In her writings on Reflections on Courage, Faith, and the Work of Love, Bishop Mariann Budde shares a joint statement with Rabbi Susan Shanman on the May 18th attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego. They write: “As the country absorbs the news of three people shot to death at the Islamic Center of San Diego, we offer our prayers and condolences to the grief-stricken. To our Muslim friends, we grieve that such a horror could take place in one of your houses of prayer. That the perpetrators could be motivated to take innocent life before killing themselves raises profound moral questions for us all.
In the past year, there have been at least four acts of violent attacks targeting communities for their faith in our country. Catholic, Latter-day Saint, Jewish, Muslim. Children at Mass. Families at Sunday worship. A congregation gathered in a sanctuary built for prayer. A school day interrupted by gunfire. Each community was targeted because of what its members believe and where they worship… an attack on one community’s sanctuary wounds us all.”
Read their full statement here, which is also an invitation to every person of faith and goodwill.
Posted in
Peace & Nonviolence
Everything Isn’t A Game
May 22, 2026
In his April 30, 2026, article in the National Catholic Reporter, author Daniel Horan gives readers much to think about as it relates to today’s trends of gaming and market predictions. He supports comments and concerns raised by Pope Leo and Cardinal Cupich, and Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who see gamifying everything as a threat to our humanity.
Posted in
Peace & Nonviolence
Land of Canaan
May 22, 2026
A FREE WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING of the documentary Land of Canaan will be offered this Saturday, May 23, 2026, thanks to the Palestine Museum US.
At a time when Palestine faces erasure and genocide, it is vital to celebrate and protect the rich cultural heritage of this ancient place.
The screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT / 11:00 AM CT.
Watch the trailer here:
Posted in
Equity & Human Dignity
Memorializing Hmong-Lao Veterans
May 22, 2026
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month - a celebration of the innumerable contributions, vibrant cultures, and rich heritage of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers signed an executive order ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in honor of Hmong-Lao Veterans Day. Each year since assuming office, Gov. Evers has proclaimed May 14 as Hmong-Lao Veterans Day in Wisconsin.
Read his full May 13, 2026 press release about the executive order here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/416c73f
If you are looking for a unique activity this Memorial Weekend, consider a trip to Sheboygan and visit the Lao Hmong Memorial at Deland Park. The memorial was dedicated on July 15, 2006.
Posted in
Equity & Human Dignity
May 17-24 is Laudato Si Week
May 13, 2026
Laudato Si’ Week 2026 invites us to move from hope to action. Hope is not passive; it is lived and shared through daily choices, community life, prayer, and concrete acts of care. This year reminds us that ecological conversion grows step by step — through relationships restored, creation protected, and communities strengthened. Choose one simple action that aligns with the Laudato Si’ Action Platform goals, found here. Share it with your local community and add it to the global Padlet here.
Toward the end of Laudato Si’ Week, participants from around the world are invited to a virtual Creation Care Ceremony: A Blessing and Sending Forth on May 23, 2026, at 8:00 AM CT. During this global gathering, you will:
- Renew your commitment to care for creation
- Present and celebrate your initiatives
- Receive a special blessing for your actions
Register for the Creation Care Ceremony
CSA is excited to share that THREE more people from the Congregation are participating in the Laudato Si’ Animator training this spring, bringing our total of animators up to 12! Congratulations to Sister Lael Niblick, Madeline Gianforte, and Dusty Krikau for making this commitment. Marian University student Luca Pasternak also participated in the training and is joining them for their final seed project: working with Holy Family this fall to bring a showing of the movie, The Letter. Save the date for September 13 at 11:30 in Holy Family Hall.
Posted in
Cosmology & Creation
Immigration: How We Got Here, A Better Path Forward
May 13, 2026
People for People, a growing group of neighbors, friends, churchgoers, farmers, small business owners, teachers, and simply concerned citizens in the Fond du Lac (WI) area, began meeting last fall to discuss concerns about ICE raiding U.S. communities. They also wanted to better understand the County Sheriff’s 287(g) Warrant Service Officer (WSO) agreement with the Department of Homeland Security.
The group has spent months educating themselves and others on the many aspects of immigration and border policies, immigration law, the role of immigration enforcement, and the real stories of human struggle. They are proud to offer a free, in-person presentation to the public titled, Immigration: How We Got Here, A Better Path Forward.
This will be presented by Kat Griffith on Thursday, May 21 at 6 pm in Founders Hall of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes Motherhouse, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI.
Kat Griffith has given versions of this presentation to a wide variety of audiences in Wisconsin and beyond, including numerous civic and political organizations, churches, Ripon College’s Center for Politics and the People, WisconsinEye, the League of Women Voters (local and national), and college classes. Her background includes a number of years living and working in Latin America, many years as a Spanish-English interpreter for immigrants and asylum seekers, and a background in public policy, economics, and communications. She has been active on immigration policy since the 1980s, is currently a Fond du Lac County Board Supervisor, and is committed to bipartisanship and respectful dialogue across political differences.
If you are interested in learning more about, or getting involved with, People for People Fond du Lac, let us know by completing this involvement form. Thank you!!
Posted in
Trafficking & Migration
Making the Case for Restorative Justice
May 08, 2026
When we explore our national justice systems, we are confronted by our beliefs, both as individuals and a society, about what creates and sustains justice and healing. In nonviolence, we opt for a restorative system based on a higher image of the human being, a “new story.”
In a May 5 post from the Metta Center for Nonviolence on Substack, Michael Nagler offers some counter-points to six beliefs that limit us to retributive action and systems.
1. The belief that humans are inherently violent and must be controlled through punishment.
This pessimistic theory has been completely discredited, by scientists. But the image of the human being (us) implied in popular culture generally, throughout that culture, but particularly by advertising, shows us as nasty, selfish, etc. Humankind (Rutger Bregman) is one good recent source to show how the stories we tell ourselves even about events that actually happened—the Titanic, the murder of Kitty Genovese stick in my mind—are drastically and damagingly wrong. Every society has many more powerful ways to guide and control the behavior of its members, e.g. by persuasion. Punishment, e.g. exile, is rare, used only for extreme cases.
2. The belief that punishment works—especially that it deters harm or brings healing.
I think the biggest claim about punishment is that it deters, and that’s demonstrably wrong. Recidivism is high in the U.S. criminal ‘justice’ system. These facts, like the above, are ignored. Paradigms speak louder than facts. As for healing, even the victims of serious crime, e.g. family members of persons killed, very often say they do not want punishment; it does not bring closure, much less healing.
3. The belief that others (or institutions) should determine what is healing, rather than those directly affected or the community.
Exactly wrong. This is symptomatic of a very widespread false belief about human beings, that we have limited or no agency, that we need others, ultimately government, to do things for us, individually and as a society. Very demeaning and damaging. The criterion for everything we do, for ourselves and others, should be, does this help the subject grow. When my grandmother died (grandma Yetta, age 102), her son, my uncle, complained at the burial, ‘In the old days we used to shove dirt on the casket ourselves; it was a machiah (blessing).’ Now we are separated from our emotions, leaving wounds unhealed, often by entities far removed and impersonal who don’t know us.
4. The belief that harm affects only the person directly impacted, rather than everyone involved—including the broader community.
Sigh, wrong again. The harm happens to everyone concerned including the perpetrator of the harm. The discovery of “moral injury” is one of the great breakthroughs made by science into the true, interconnected nature of who we are; See item 6.
5. The belief that people cannot change.
Here we go again; comforting (sometimes), but false. Estranged individuals can be reconciled, ‘hardened’ criminals can be restored—it happens over and over, and mature cultures like the Maori of NZ, the Navajo (Anasazi) of the U.S., and countless examples from all over the world (thank you Doug Fry, e.g. War, Peace, and Human Nature) institutionalize this capacity to change in countless ways. We can—today often are—so conditioned we no longer believe in our capacity to change and fail to recognize it when we do.
6. The belief that we are fundamentally separate from one another.
I’m glad you finally came out with it. This is the root of all the other lies; it’s existential and severely damaging. It springs from the grandmother of all lies, that we are only or primarily our physical bodies, the part of us you can see and touch. E.g. “the old story.” If only we were taught in school, nay, in our families that we are body, mind, and spirit (aka consciousness), in increasing order of power and importance, all this could be corrected. So that’s what we can do in our own minds and hearts. The change starts there, and by and by, as Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘might o’ersweep the world.’ Now that would be a cleanup, eh?
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Are you interested in Restorative Justice? David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, founder of Amplify RJ (check out his YouTube Channel, please) will host an online workshop as part of the Metta Center’s month-long focus on Restorative Justice in May… this Saturday, May 9, from 9-11 am. The workshop on RJ will be engaging and participatory. They are not planning to record it. If you’d like to attend to learn more about RJ and our Nonviolence Studies program, you are welcome to sign up. Register here, only if you can attend live.
Posted in
Peace & Nonviolence
Thank you for your loving interaction at the North Fond du Lac School District’s Annual Multilingual Family Night. You seem to have had fun while making our world a better place.
Blessings,
Josephine