Bending the Arc

If you’ve been interested in joining the nearly 20,000 trained Laudato Si’ Animators worldwide, but missed the spring and fall training in 2026, here’s your opportunity!

Discover a flexible way to deepen your faith, embrace ecological conversation, and become a voice for our common home - all at your own pace, on your own schedule.

The Laudato Si’ Animators Formation On-Demand 2026 is now open!

This self-paced course gives you the opportunity to revisit or complete  your formation using the learning resources and recorded webinars from the April-June 2026 cohort.

Review the course curriculum and enroll for free at laudatosianimators.thinkific.com/courses/lsaondemand2026 
 

In a New York Times article from November 5, 2026, reporter Laurel Rosenhall shares the historical news that Governor Gavin Newsom of California has spared the lives of all 548 prisoners on the state’s death row, the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern American history.

She reports, “Mr. Newsom said he made the decision because he finds capital punishment morally objectionable.” This is in line with current Catholic teachings, where it is found to be a violation against human dignity, and a standing of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes have shared for decades.

Read the full article
 

On Monday, November 9, 2026, Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life is offering an in-person and livestreamed dialogue called, Repentance, Repair, and Prevention: Slavery and Human Dignity in Magnifica Humanitas.

Pope Leo, an American-born pope descended from both enslavers and enslaved people, surprised many when, in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he apologized for the Catholic Church’s historic complicity in slavery. He made clear that this apology was only the beginning; “what we have learned,” he wrote, “must be translated into discernment and responsibility in the present.”
This dialogue between Catholic leaders and scholars of the history of slavery will explore how the Church can respond with “discernment and responsibility” to its role in past injustice. At Georgetown University, this discussion is particularly important given our ongoing commitments to respond, to reflect on, engage with, and learn from its historical ties to slavery. The participants will explore how the Church, as well as Catholic institutions and individuals, can safeguard the truth about human dignity while acknowledging past failures, and how this history can inform Catholics’ response to new forms of exploitation in the digital age.

Register Here and/or tune in to the livestream and recording on the Georgetown YouTube channel for this and hundreds of other meaningful recordings.

For additional education on a Catholic response (Jesuits) to acknowledging the past and understanding what true reconciliation requires, learn about the “What We Inherit: Truth, Repair, and a Promise to the Future” exhibit at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) in this NRC article. The self-guided traveling display runs October 5-November 7.
 

A boycott is a voluntary refusal to purchase goods or services from a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. They serve as moral, effective and nonviolent ways to resist injustice and to achieve change. They are legal and a constitutionally protected form of free speech that have proven to be very effective.

The Palestine Justice Working Group of the UCC Wisconsin Conference invites all people of faith to join them in making a moral choice of choosing NOT to use Airbnb or Booking.com for their vacation or business travel.

Both companies are advertising nearly 350 vacation rental properties on stolen land in illegal Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This land was forcibly stolen from its Palestinian owners and is guarded by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). It is strictly off limits to Palestinians. Both companies are knowingly complicit in Israeli’s military occupation, and both are guilty of war crimes per the Fourth Geneva Convention. Learn more here.

Additionally, if you are a hospitality host, pledge to make your B&B, hostel, or hotel a Sanctuary of Peace - sanctuariesofpeace.org. If you are a traveler, pledge to drop Booking.com and Airbnb from your travel plans here: loom.ly/ZdTnKal 
 

Catholics in Communion is a growing national collaborative that helps Catholics live out their faith in public and communal life, rooted in the Gospel and guided by Catholic Social Teaching. 
They have created the Protecting Participation in Civic Life Workbook.

This practical resource offers guidance on accompanying voters, contesting misinformation, and providing faithful witness to help ensure safe and meaningful elections for all. It includes Catholic teaching on elections and democracy, opportunities for prayer and reflection, and ideas for constructive civic engagement.

The workbook is available in both English and Spanish, so individuals and communities can engage with these materials in the language that works best for them.

Explore the Protecting Participation in Civic Life Workbook
 

“Can you tell me more?”
“Thanks for explaining this. Do you mind if I share a different view?”
“I could be wrong, but it’s my understanding that…”
“Thanks for talking with me; a lot of folks won’t talk to people they disagree with.”

These are just a few of several suggested “Dignity Phrases” offered by The Dignity Index, an 8-point scale that measures how we treat each other when we disagree. Dignity.Us works in classrooms, universities, workplaces, communities, faith groups, and public life across the country. They teach and train on the Dignity Index, share dignity practices and skills, and nurture our growing dignity community.

On October 21 & 22, 2026, Alexa Merrill from The Dignity Index came to Fond du Lac and presented to students at Marian University and finished a 3-part speaker series for the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes at the Prairie Theater and Event Center.

Alexa explained the eight points on the scale, each one representing a particular mindset toward the other side, ranging from ONE - which sees no dignity at all on the other side - to EIGHT, which sees the dignity in everyone, no matter what.

You can watch Alexa’s 45-minute presentation on CSA’s YouTube channel and stay tuned in for the Q&A that followed.

In addition to reviewing a scoring guide, Alexa provided information for how one might be a Dignity Voter by challenging everyone to believe when we treat each other with dignity, we can ease divisions, prevent violence, and solve problems. This starts with ourselves - a personal commitment to treat others with dignity, even when we disagree. A second step is to ask political candidates to join us; challenge them to lead by example and treat all voters and other candidates with dignity. Finally, invite others to become dignity voters too. Find ways to engage and join the movement at dignity.us/dignity-voter
 

Faith leaders are encouraged to sign on to a letter urging their Senators to co-sponsor and support S.4814 that will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians for three years. The Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS for approximately 350,000 Haitians in the United States effective July 27, 2026.

Extending TPS would allow our Haitian neighbors to continue to live and work legally and safely in the United States while supporting their families and contributing to their communities. Without TPS, they face possible detention and deportation to Haiti, where rampant gang violence, food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and the breakdown of rule of law have created dire conditions.

Read the full letter.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes continues to respond to those whose faith life or human dignity are threatened, and their Leadership Team has co-signed this letter. Other faith leaders, religious organizations, and congregations can join them by adding their name to the letter. Organizations are urged to sign on no later than 12:00 pm ET Tuesday, October 27.

A documentary debuted on PBS this week that includes firsthand footage in Haiti and interviews with Haitians there are locally in Springfield, OH. This film is highly recommended.
 

The group, Catholics in Communion, is offering a Virtual Election Novena to pray, reflect and act in communion November 1 through November 9 at 6:30 pm CT each of the nine evenings. Together, participants will pray utilizing the USCCB's Novena for Faithful Citizenship, share prayers of the faithful, check in with local communities holding vigil across the country, and hear about the latest election related news and opportunities to act to ensure all citizens can meaningfully participate and all legal votes are counted. Sign up for resources. You will be emailed the Zoom link after you register.

Additionally, The Leadership Conference for Women Religious (LCWR) will be offering an Election Novena October 26 - November 5 with a virtual prayer vigil throughout the day on November 3 - Election Day. A 10-minute contemplative prayer will be posted for each day on the LCWR website. The daily prayer will be posted by 7:30 pm on the preceding day, with the first posting on Sunday evening, October 25. The daily posting will allow the prayer to be responsive to what is happening in our world, in our lives, and in our congregations. 

On Election Day, November 3, LCWR will also be offering a virtual 24-Hour Prayer Vigil. Simply join with this Zoom link any time during the day, 12 am - 12 pm. 

The USCCB offers these 10 Ways You can Take Action for Faithful Citizenship, which includes this novena.