Bending the Arc

In preparation for the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious has entered a period of reflection on nearly 300 years of our presence, service, and leadership in the United States.

In a spirit of prayer, discernment, and fidelity to the values that inspired women religious, beginning in 1727, to respond to the humanitarian needs of those they encountered in the United States, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes joins with all the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to make this Declaration of Commitment.

We, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, affirm our commitment to:

• Upholding the inherent right to life of every human being and the dignity of each person
• Embracing the gospel call to love, welcome, and care for all people, especially those who are most vulnerable
• Welcoming immigrants and providing care and assistance to all who reside in our nation, while advocating for comprehensive immigration reform
• Standing against violence in all its forms
• Dismantling racism in all its manifestations
• Caring for our common home, Earth, through attentive stewardship and decisive action
• Respecting and supporting every person's journey toward the fullness of their humanity
• Working to alleviate poverty in all its forms
• Exercising the responsibility to vote and advocating for the protection of this opportunity for others
• Promoting dialogue, negotiation, and mutual understanding as the path to lasting peace, rather than the use of force and the destruction of life

As bearers of hope:

• We commit ourselves to living compassion, communion, and nonviolence as members of one global community.
• We remain steadfast in our belief in the inherent right to life of every human being and the dignity of each person.
• We proclaim the urgent necessity of nonviolence in both word and action.
• We embrace our responsibility to make choices that support the good of all life on this planet.
• We pledge to live our call to be courageous witnesses of love — refusing to surrender our moral authority or succumb to despair.

We make this Declaration of Commitment in light of our vocation as Catholic Sisters: to be women of God living amid the profound challenges of our world, fearless in embracing and embodying the priorities of the Gospel.

Read/Print the letter delivered to Congress

Read/Print the declaration and list of signers

Advocates, organizers, faith leaders, and community members from across Wisconsin are coming together to build collective power and advance immigration justice at this year’s First Annual Wisconsin Immigration Summit: Stronger Together.

Featuring keynote speaker Attorney General Josh Kaul, the summit will take place July 31 - August 31 at Marian University, Fond du Lac, organized by www.wisdomwisconsin.org.

Don’t miss inspiring speakers, hands-on workshops, strategy sessions, and opportunities to connect with others committed to creating change.

Learn more and register TODAY!

To get more involved in immigration work in Wisconsin, you are welcome to attend WISDOM’s virtual meetings - the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. You can find the Zoom information for each meeting on their online calendar here.

Current projects WISDOM is supporting include Know Your Rights training to community members and employers, ending 287(g) agreements, and restoring driver’s licenses. Learn more about their work here. 
 

From the time of our country’s founding 250 years ago, the story of America has been one of the constant efforts of Americans—from all races, ethnicities, genders, and abilities—to make real the belief that we are all created equal and have a right to have a say in our democracy.

Visit Heather Cox Richardson’s YouTube page to watch her playlist of 48 short, 1-minute videos that tell these stories. Then, if you share them on social media, be sure to add to your post: “We Are America.” #WeAreAmerica250

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2dS6uX1RkUzLppeUrqtvApwnR6whO7I_ 
 

Haiti is facing a multifaceted humanitarian catastrophe. The U.S. State Department maintains a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for the country, and the Federal Aviation Administration currently prohibits any commercial flights from the United States to the capital of Port-au-Prince. In January, Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, made clear “[t]here is simply no realistic opportunity for the safe and orderly return of people to Haiti at this time.” 

Last November, in spite of the ongoing conditions, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti, effective February 3, 2026. While the TPS termination was challenged in court, the recent resolution of that case paves the way for it to move forward and deprive so many vulnerable Haitians here of their ability to remain. Bishop Cahill described the reality now facing Haitians who have been relying on TPS as a “moral crisis” and underscored “we as a nation cannot turn a blind eye to such an injustice and the impossible choices it will create for families and communities.” 

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend Haiti’s TPS designation to 2029 (H.R. 1689). The Senate version of that bill was introduced in June (S. 4814).

Temporary protected status allows nationals of a particular country, who have been present in the United States since a specified date and pass criminal background checks, to remain in the United States lawfully for the duration of the TPS designation. It does not provide a basis upon which someone from that country can request permanent residence or citizenship in the United States. As of June 2026, over 300,000 Haitians in the United States were relying on TPS. 

While the bishops have recognized TPS is a temporary measure, forcibly returning thousands of families to Haiti at this moment would not only endanger their lives but would further destabilize Haiti itself, plunging it further into crisis. Now is the time to urge senators to support S. 4814 in order to prevent this injustice from occurring.  

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY

UPDATE: The future of the Temporary Protected Status program, and the legal status of 270,000 people who still have it, is at risk after a big Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2026.

The court's ruling allowed the current U.S. administration to move forward with cancelling TPS for two countries, Haiti and Syria. But it also underscored that the secretary of homeland security decides whether to grant someone this status, or end it, and it's not up to the courts to weigh in. That gives the Administration space to strip this status from hundreds of thousands of more people.
Read the full NPR article here: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/29/g-s1-130942/temporary-protected-status-program-explainer-supreme-court
 

More than 1.6 billion people worldwide lack adequate housing, and at least 150 million are entirely without shelter. Homelessness is not merely an absence of a roof — it is the compounded denial of water, sanitation, energy, safety, dignity, and economic participation. It is both a cause and consequence of systemic inequality, and its persistence represents one of the most visible failures of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) midpoint now past and voluntary national reviews underway, the 2026 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) provides a critical moment to examine how homelessness intersects with the goals under review — particularly SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11, and 17. Progress on these goals is inextricably linked: a person without stable housing cannot meaningfully access clean water or sanitation (SDG 6); cannot benefit from affordable, clean energy (SDG 7); is excluded from digital and physical infrastructure (SDG 9); and is the direct subject of SDG 11's target 11.1 on adequate housing for all. Realizing these commitments demands the kind of integrated, multi-stakeholder partnership envisioned by SDG 17.

You are invited to attend a virtual side event of the HLPF on Thursday, July 9, 7:30 am-9:00 am Central Time titled, “Thirst, Hygiene, and Dignity: The Hidden Face of Homelessness under SDS’s 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. This event will be moderated by Sister Jean Quinn, DW, who continues to serve as Executive Director of UNANIMA International through September 30, 2026.

ECOSOC-accredited Event Sponsor: Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
ECOSOC-accredited Event Co-Sponsors: Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Loreto Generalate, Working Group to End Homelessness, NGO Committee for Social Development, Justice Coalition of Religious

Expected Outcomes

• Increased awareness of homelessness as a multi SDG issue
• Identification of practical, integrated solutions
• Strengthened collaboration across sectors and stakeholders

Target Audience

• Member States and government representatives
• UN agencies and experts
• Civil society and grassroots organizations
• Faith-based organizations

Registration Link: https://daughtersofcharity.zoom.us/meeting/register/Mq1oxFSyQiyh16FfwRPXKQ   
 

WISDOM is a Wisconsin nonprofit dedicated to bringing diverse communities together to advocate for justice through community organizing. To help Wisconsinities be informed and active voters, they brought together candidates for this year’s race for Governor to share their vision, priorities, and policy positions.

All candidates who were registered as of 4/25/2026 were invited - 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 4 Independents. Of those, 10 responded by the deadline of May 12. Because two of those candidates were not certified, one suspended their campaign, only seven attended the June 22nd forum.

Questions candidates addressed were on topics of the legal and carceral system, immigration, environmental justice, and other issues impacting Wisconsin families and communities.

A recording of WISDOM’s June 22, 2026 Gubernatorial Candidate Forum can be viewed here: 

A total of nine candidates will appear on the August 11 Partisan Primary ballot. They are:

• Tom Tiffany, Republican
• Andy Manske, Republican
• David Crowley, Democrat
• Sara Rodriguez, Democrat
• Joel Brennan, Democrat
• Francesca Hong, Democrat
• Kelda Roys, Democrat
• Mandela Barnes, Democrat

In a Partisan Primary election, voters only vote within one political party. To see who is on your ballot, visit myvote.wi.gov 

 

NETWORK Advocates is launching See. Love. Vote., a 501(c)(3) non-partisan voter engagement and education campaign rooted in the Catholic Social Justice tradition. This is a multi-faith, non-partisan effort to engage and mobilize everyone to participate in the 2026 elections.  

Led by NETWORK Advocates and faith partners across the country, they are connecting communities with the tools they need to be informed and energized voters, inspired by the common good. The goal is simple: move people to participate in our democracy by voting, informed by facts and grounded by faith. Together, we can make life better for all. 

To celebrate the kick-off of this campaign and share ways to get involved, NETWORK and our faith partners are hosting a See. Love. Vote. Virtual Launch Party on Thursday, July 9 at 6:30 PM Central.  At this event, you will hear faith leaders and advocates across the country share what they are seeing in their communities, how they are responding with love, and why they are voting. You will also learn about the tools and resources that we will provide throughout the election season to make sure that everyone is an informed and engaged voter!

To help you pick the candidates that best serve your values, consider using the checklist and other resources: https://www.networkadvocates.org/vote/#resources 
 

You are invited to join Land Justice Futures on Tuesday, July 7, as the apply a critical, historical lens to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, learn about the Indigenous roots of American democracy, and discuss the unfinished work of truth-telling, repair, and right relationship for the next 250 years.

We will be in conversation with Condoled Mohawk Clanmother “Mommabear” Louise Herne, How We Citizen host Baratunde Thurston, and Reverend Sara Jolena Wolcott, a theologian and descendent of one of the signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

In this webinar we will…

• Learn about how the Founding Fathers and the unrealized ideals of the United States – liberty, justice, equality of all – were inspired by Haudenosaunee democratic tradition spanning over 1000 years.
• Hear about the fundamental Indigenous principles and civic structures that were ignored or misunderstood in the formation of the Republic, and the foundational political philosophy that is still on offer from Haudenosaunee elders.
• Reflect on the current state of our democracy and what's needed in this change of era.
• Ground in what it might look like to de-center “Independence” and move towards becoming a society that honors our Interdependence.

REGISTER HERE

In advance of this event, you are invited to consider these reflection questions and read this essay from LJF’s Sarah Bradley. While not required to participate, the hope is these resources offer you important context and insights to think about in the weeks ahead.