Bending the Arc

Sisters of Mercy are sponsoring a special program with the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, Creation Justice Ministries, Maryknoll and the Mennonite Central Committee. It will be one that provides space for reflection on the Doctrine of Discovery, its legacy of increasingly extreme forms of extracting natural resources, and will explore alternatives to this economic paradigm.

The program is called, The Roots of Extractivism and the Moral Call for Transformation and will be online Thursday, April 15 at 6 pm CT.

The current exploitation of land, water and communities for mining, oil and gas drilling and other forms of extracting natural resources is rooted in a 15th-century church doctrine promoting colonial conquest. This 90-minute program will explore these roots of the extractivist economy, create space for reflection on our own complicity, and showcase examples of alternative ways of living and working. Speakers include Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo (Tewa) woman who co-founded the Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition; Ryan Juskus, an assistant professor at Notre Dame who specializes in issues of environmental justice; and a panel of practitioners of alternative economies.  

This is a free program, but donations are appreciated. 

REGISTER HERE
 

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 604 is a bipartisan bill seeking to provide more access to care for incarcerated people with substance use disorders. A Medicaid expansion would also cover general health care needs. This bill was officially passed by the State Senate and State Assembly this week! Read the full story here. 

This is an important victory for incarcerated people and their loved ones in Wisconsin. The full implementation of this bill would:

• reduce needless suffering in jails and prisons,
• put more people on a pathway to successful reentry,
• reduce the number of people being detained,
• enhance public safety, and save resources that can instead be utilized to build stronger and healthier communities.

Read more about AB 604
 

Last November, the Department of Homeland Security announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti effective February 3, 2026. On February 2, the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled the termination was unlawful and could not be enforced. The ruling is being appealed by the Department of Homeland Security. Haitians living in the US under TPS face a very uncertain future.  

We are thankful to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for their statements of January 29, 2026, and February 3, 2026, concerning this issue. The Bishops state, “We are deeply concerned about the plight of our Haitian brothers and sisters living in the United States who will soon have their legal status and work authorization revoked due to the Administration’s termination of TPS for Haiti. There is simply no realistic opportunity for the safe and orderly return of people to Haiti at this time."   

In order to extend TPS for 300,000 Haitians at risk for deportation, members of the House of Representatives are being asked to sign Discharge Petition #15 to force a vote on H. Res. 965, which, if passed, would immediately bring H.R. 1689 to the floor for a vote. H.R. 1689, if passed, would extend TPS for Haitians. To understand the legislative process on this issue, refer to Understanding the Bill, the Resolution, and the Discharge Petition. 
218 signatures are needed. Presently, 172 representatives have signed. Click here to check if your representative signed the petition.

CSA and other Catholic organizations stand in solidarity with our Haitian siblings.You are invited to take action with this SSND petition and contact your U.S.Representative requesting they sign the Discharge Petition immediately. 

The seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) is taking place March 9-19, 2026. The priority theme of the session will be: Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers. 

The review theme will be: Women’s full and effective participation and decision making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

On March 9, 2026, the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness (WGEH) offered a virtual side event titled, A Home for All is Justice for All. This CSW70 side event convened a distinguished panel to discuss the critical issues of specific populations of women and girls and successful interventions to redress violations of their rights and call government stakeholders to take action to prevent homelessness by addressing legal barriers and discrimination that serve as barriers to women’s human rights in housing, land and inheritance rights.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights affirms that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing and shelter….” Yet, well over 2.8 billion people lack access to adequate housing, secure land and basic water and sanitation services. More than 1.12 billion of these people live in precarious conditions in slums or informal settlements, threatening their health and even their survival. In addition, some 300 million people face absolute homelessness globally, lacking any form of stable shelter, no housing at all. 

Many people are experiencing or at risk of experiencing hidden homelessness, which means they are often not included in the data. Many of these people are women with children who conceal their housing status due to fear of losing their children to the state government. Furthermore, millions of people are forcibly evicted or displaced from their homes every year. Many are driven into homelessness by conflict, climate, commodification, or criminalization. A gender analysis indicates that women of all ages are particularly affected in all forms of homelessness, and their needs require specific solutions. Whether migrants, indigenous, economically  disenfranchised, mothers, youth, or older adults, one of the major causes of this vulnerability for women is discriminatory statutory laws as well as customary laws and practices, and lack of access to legal and other remedies.

This panel was moderated by Sister Jean Quinn, DW, Executive Director of UNANIMA International. The recording is now available here.

Learn more at https://unanima-international.org/csw70/ 
 

The Interfaith Peace Working Group (IPWG) is planning a day-long conference on nonviolence in the life of people of faith and conscience on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Internationally known faith leaders Shane Claiborne and Kathy Kelly will be keynote speakers. There will also be eight different workshops to choose from. Learn more at https://www.interfaithpeacewg.org/upcoming-events 

This will be an in-person conference with interfaith conversations on building the beloved community. Location is Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, WI. Cost is $20 and includes lunch. There will be an optional action at the Capitol at the end of the day.

CLICK HERE to REGISTER!

CSA is a co-sponsor of this event. Please contact Tracy at tabler@csasisters.org if you’d like to carpool from Fond du Lac.
 

Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism held a hearing entitled, "Lost and Exploited: Confronting Child Trafficking and the Failure to Protect America's Most Vulnerable."  

During the hearing, the following testimony was presented:

• Tim Tebow, Founder and Chairman of the Tim Tebow Foundation showed a map of the U.S. displaying 338,984 unique Internet addresses that have shared Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) of children under the age of 12 being tied up, tortured, and raped.
• Yasmin Vafa, Executive Director of Rights4Girls shared that one survivor from Los Angeles spent six months at age 16 telling every one of her adult buyers that she was being trafficked against her will and that she needed help. Not one buyer helped her. Each year hundreds of American children are arrested for prostitution— despite the fact that no child can legally consent to sex. The arrests leave survivors vulnerable to further victimization and trauma in the youth justice system.
• A Mother of CSAM Victim described how her child, a victim of familial exploitation and trafficking, is revictimized every day through sexual abuse in online images that were created when she was an infant.
• Julia Einbond, Chief Executive Officer, Covenant House New Jersey advocated emphasized that identification of vulnerabilities and of trafficking itself is a needed intervention for children.
• Staca Shehan, Vice President, Analytical Services Division, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children anticipates that reports of online child sex trafficking will continue to increase and the identification of child victims of online exploitation will require a sophisticated blend of technology, human analytical review, and post-recovery resources for victimized children.

Given these realities, we encourage you to contact your Senators and Representatives to encourage passage of the following suite of bills:

• H.R. 1144: Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025 which includes education and prevention provisions, would support a survivors’ employment and education program, and authorize housing assistance grants for survivors.
• H.R. 6998: Renewed Hope Act for the Department of Homeland Security to hire forensics analysts and child exploitation investigators to investigate child trafficking and exploitation.
• S. 1829/H.R. 3921:STOP CSAM Act to combat the sexual exploitation of children by supporting victims and promoting accountability and transparency by the technology industry.
• S.2012/H.R. 3856: Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act (RHYTPA) to reauthorize housing and transitional living grants.
   

ACT NOW

Following the United States and Israel’s overnight missile barrage of Iran on Feb. 28 and the widening war across the Middle East, a number of U.S. bishops have spoken out in opposition to the war.

In a March 9 article in America Magazine, Edward Desciak reports on statements made by Cardinals McElroy and Cupich who voice concerns that war has become “a spectator sport.”

Cardinal Cupich urged the American people not to “become addicted to the ‘spectacle’ of explosions.” “Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment,” he wrote, “as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store.”

“I know that the American people are better than this. We have the good sense to know that what is happening is not entertainment but war, and that Iran is a nation of people, not a video game others play to entertain us,” he concluded.

Read the full article 
 

Piloting Faith is an (almost daily) mediation from Rev. Cameron Trimble that will boost your spirit, inspire your activism and challenge your complacency. Her meditations offer reflection questions, a daily prayer, and some spiritual guidance. They also offer upcoming events that may be of interest to readers.

In her March 10, 2026, meditation, The Work Beneath the Surface, Rev. Cameron tells the story of the bamboo forests in Asia. When bamboo is planted, almost nothing happens for years. The seed is watered. The soil is tended. Seasons pass. To the casual observer, the ground appears unchanged.

One year goes by. Nothing.

Two years. Still nothing.

Three. Four.

Then sometime around the fifth year, something remarkable happens. The bamboo suddenly shoots upward. Within a matter of weeks it can grow nearly ninety feet tall.

To someone who has not been watching closely, the growth appears sudden and almost miraculous. But of course the growth did not begin in the fifth year.

For years the bamboo has been doing its most important work underground. It has been growing an intricate network of roots, spreading wide and deep through the soil. Only once that foundation is strong enough does the visible growth begin.

Rev. Cameron goes on to reflect how this growth is similar to the pains many of us feel currently with the widening war in Iran and the tensions in our country. Read her full article here. 
You are encouraged to join Rev. Cameron’s readers on the adventure of making our world a more just and generous place. Subscribe here.