Bending the Arc

Media is reporting that Senate Majority Leader Schumer will bring two bills to vote this week.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), sponsored by Sens. Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Blackburn (R-Tenn.), would put in place regulations for how social media companies can operate online involving minors.  The bill would add a "duty of care" to mitigate the promotion of harmful content and addictive features.  

The Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), sponsored by Sens. Markey (D-Mass.) and Cassidy (R-La.), would update online privacy standards technology companies use for minors on their platforms and would ban targeted advertising to kids.

Please join the Alliance to End Human Trafficking in urging the Senate to pass these bills. Take Action Now.

For more information on these developments, refer to the article at: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4787769-schumer-to-bring-kids-online-safety-bills-to-vote-this-week/ 

You are encouraged to contact your senator and ask them to co-sponsor S.1723 and vote yes when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote.

By supporting this legislation, we are taking a momentous step as a Nation toward recognizing and honoring boarding school survivors, descendents and those who never had the chance to return home. Survivors and their descendants deserve the opportunity to heal from historical injustices in a way that is meaningful and aligned with their cultural values.

This federal commission will:

• Locate church and government records
• Examine the location of children forcibly placed in U.S. Indian boarding schools
• Hold culturally-appropriate public hearings to collect testimony from survivors and descendants
• Gather institutional knowledge from subject matter experts
• Document the boarding schools’ ongoing impacts
• Tell the truth by sharing findings publicly with cultural sensitivity
• Provide a final report with a list of recommendations for healing

For your reference, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) U.S. Truth & Healing Commission Bill advocacy toolkit is available here.

Follow Senate floor schedules and webcasts here: https://www.senate.gov/legislative/floor_activity_pail.htm 
 

Join the Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s August webinar, “Connecting Faith and Action.” Uncover the theology of integral ecology and discover tools for faith-based action with speakers from Oxford University and the World Research Institute on Thursday, August 8 at 8 am CT.

Part One:
Speaker Alberto Palecchi from the World Resources Institute, will unveil the guide "Science-Based Targets for Faith," which encourages faith leaders to lead us toward environmental responsibility and consciousness. Following him, Fr. Peter Rožič of the Laudato Si' Research Institute at Oxford University will delve into the theological foundations of integral ecology and its role amid the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE AUG 8 WEBINAR

Part Two:
At 9 am, join a small group dialogue to discuss Fr. Peter Rožič’s and Alberto Palecchi’s ideas and share how they apply to our faith journeys and work around the world.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE 40-MINUTE DISCUSSION ON AUG 8
 

The theme for this year's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (7/30) is “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”

A staggering 1 in 3 victims of human trafficking are children. Children are twice as likely to face violence during trafficking than adults, according to the 2023 UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Regions such as Sub-Saharan and Northern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, have the highest incidences of child trafficking which accounts for 60 percent of detected trafficking victims.

The 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, issued by the US Senate, chronicles the efforts of 188 nations to combat human trafficking in their countries. The report receives international attention as nations which are cited as Tier 1 - permissive and supportive of human trafficking - can be sanctioned by the US government. The 2024 report explores the intersection between digital technology and human trafficking; technology that can be used to expand human trafficking networks, but can also be used to root them out. 

Read more
 

A Texas company is now installing ammunition vending machines in grocery stores across Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Read this message from the Democracy for America Advocacy Fund: “The company behind these machines claims their age-verification technology makes these transactions safe. But we know better. No amount of technology can prevent these machines from normalizing gun violence and making deadly weapons more accessible than ever.

We need to stop this dangerous trend before it spreads. We need to send a clear message that our grocery stores should be safe spaces for families, not convenient pit stops for potential killers.
We've already lost too many lives to gun violence. We can't make it even easier for tragedy to strike.

We're up against a powerful, well-funded gun lobby that puts profits over people's lives. But we have something stronger: the will of Americans who are tired of living in fear of gun violence.”

Tell Congress to act now. Demand a nationwide ban on ammunition vending machines in grocery stores.  
 

This webinar from the Laudato Si Action Plan delved into the grassroots efforts that contribute to transformation and identified the challenges local communities face in implementing sustainable practices. Alfonso Apicella, Global Campaigns Manager at Caritas Internationalis, shared insights on tackling grassroots challenges through community collaboration. He also discussed the impact of community collaboration on ecological goals, strategies for overcoming local challenges, and the potential for inter-community collaboration. This event was ideal for community leaders, environmental activists, policymakers, and anyone interested in grassroots movements’ role in ecological transformation.

Watch the recording here: 

Earlier this week, historian Heather Cox Richardson talked about Project 2025 and drew an online crowd of 42,000 people. More and more people are becoming aware of what this extreme project means for American democracy and personal freedoms. Want to learn more? Watch this Red Wine & Blue recording with Heather or do some research on your own - there is A LOT out there!

While presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is denying any knowledge of Project 2025, his 2024 GOP Platform has very similar language. Listen to what Heather has to say around the 23-minute and 32-minute marks of this recording, and you decide.
 

July 17, 2024, marked the fourth anniversary of civil rights hero and Congressman John Lewis’ passing. 

For six decades, John Lewis fought tirelessly to expand and protect the rights of Black voters and all Americans. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was one of the crown jewels of his lifelong fight for justice and equality.

But, in recent years, the Supreme Court has gutted this crucial civil rights law, ushering in a new era of suppressive state laws and politicians attempting to silence our voices.

We can fix that by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will restore and strengthen essential protections of the VRA, shielding millions of voters from potentially discriminatory voting laws.

EVERY voter should be able to cast their ballot on Election Day – free from obstruction or intimidation. Passing this bill would be a major step towards creating the democracy we deserve.

Here are frequently asked questions, answered by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Use this form to tell your senators to take action and pass this crucial legislation.
 

Congress has before it bipartisan, commonsense legislation poised to better support and protect unaccompanied migrant children entering the U.S. while simultaneously helping to address the enormous immigration court backlog. 

Unaccompanied migrant children should not be left to navigate a bewildering and complex U.S. immigration system designed for adults, most having made the arduous journey to this country to escape poverty and violence. This situation leaves them vulnerable to human trafficking and other dangers.

Immigration Court Efficiency and Children’s Court Act (H.R. 6145/S.3178)

H.R. 6145/S. 3178 would create a more child-friendly environment in which unaccompanied migrant children are more likely to receive due process and better oversight, while simultaneously relieving strain on the U.S. immigration court system by grouping similar cases and streamlining the handling of pending cases of children awaiting adjudication by the U.S. immigration system. The bill draws from best practices for children’s proceedings used in other judicial settings. Among the provisions, the court structure would allow for the presence of legal and social service organizations to provide a touchpoint for children so they could be better screened for and protected from human trafficking.

The Sisters of St. Agnes have a deep commitment to standing up for human dignity and protection of the vulnerable, as do other women religious communities such as the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Please take time today to contact Congress with this SSND petition and urge support for this important legislation.

In Fond du Lac, WI, your letter will automatically be sent to Senators Johnson and Baldwin and Representative Grothman, otherwise letters will automatically be sent to the state legislators in your area. Include a personal story to send a more powerful message. Once completing the survey, do not exit. You will be emailed a code to ensure it is you sending the message.

Open this article as a PDF 

Sisters Monica Justinger, Julie Ann Krahl, and Clare Lawlor fish on Marble Lake, Michigan. They caught blue gill and bass in a location of good water quality. Inland spring-fed lakes are clean and stocked.

The Department of Natural Resources performs on-site checks for appropriate fishing licenses and approved catches of specific species. The State Department of Natural Resources protects the natural environment against pollution and misuse. True fishers and hunters appreciate DNR efforts advocating for the environment and protecting the outdoors.

How does the water quality of fish impact care for Earth?

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, climate change impacts hunting and fishing in many ways. Changing weather patterns cause species to shift the timing and location of migrations and where they choose to live. Droughts, wildfire, and harsher storms alter habitat and affect the availability of food, water and shelter animals need to survive. Warmer temperatures increase the threats of disease and spread invasive species. Hunters and anglers may need to change what, where, when, and how they hunt and fish. 
https://www.fws.gov/story/hunting-fishing-and-climate-change 

Water quality requires a sustained effort to eliminate single-use plastics as much as possible. Pope Francis told Nora O’Donnell during an interview, “It is a lack of conscience to use a plastic bottle and then throw it to the sea. This makes the sea unhealthy. We have to be conscientious about repurifying nature.” (National Catholic Reporter, June 7-20, 2024, page 4)

Have you had a conversation about how to use less plastic? 
How to protect our waterways from hazardous waste?

Sister Mary Ann Czaja toured the National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium in Edenton, NC. Americans like fish. America’s fish are in trouble. Aquatic habitat is declining because of erosion and sedimentation, altered stream flows, dams and obstructions, pollution, and invasive species. The Fisheries Program conserves species at risk for extinction and raises native fish and other species. (http://fisheries.fws.gov).

Are you looking for a way to teach children about creation care and the Catholic faith?

Download “God’s Creation Waits,” a free, downloadable PDF, for kids grades 2-5 and their adults, on noticing, appreciating, and protecting God’s Creation. View the free booklet here.

We stand in solidarity with all victims of gun violence and advocate for the swift passage of H.R. 698/S. 25, the comprehensive federal assault weapons ban legislation. 

In the wake of the tragic violence and attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Nuns Against Gun Violence mourns the loss of Fire Chief Corey Comperatore and the perpetrator Thomas Crooks, and the injuries sustained by Mr. Trump and two other attendees. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Camperatore and Crooks families and all affected by this weekend’s trauma.

This tragedy was just one of 300 mass shootings in the United States to date in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It has heightened our awareness of the constant drumbeat of gun violence and its accompanying fear. We stand in solidarity with all victims of gun violence and advocate for the swift passage of H.R. 698/S. 25, the comprehensive federal assault weapons ban legislation. Military-style firearms have no place in civilian hands. We urge Congress to prioritize the safety and well-being of all Americans by enacting this lifesaving legislation. Every life is precious.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes is part of Nuns Against Gun Violence, a coalition of Catholic Sisters and their allies, compelled by their faith, representing more than 60 communities to speak with a united voice against the crisis of gun violence. We affirm the value of human life through prayer, education, and advocacy for common-sense, evidence-based gun violence prevention.
 

August 6 and 9 mark a shameful time in history when, in 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 200,000 people. Despite this horrific humanitarian tragedy, the world’s nuclear-armed states possess a combined total of about 12,100 nuclear warheads, putting the entire planet at risk of annihilation.
    
On August 6, 2024, the Franciscan Peace Center, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa, will be hosting a virtual prayer service to mark this dark day and to call for renewed efforts to eliminate all nuclear weapons.

The prayer service will be held via Zoom from 6-7:00 pm CDT on Tuesday, August 6, 2024. 

Register to Attend

The prayer service will be recorded for those who will not be available to participate in the live event.  

CSA is a co-sponsor of this event.

This statue of Saint Agnes stands in the center of the permanent collection at the United Nations. The damaged statue was found in the ruins of a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The Cathedral was completely destroyed when the atomic bomb exploded half a kilometre away. The charring and mottling on the back of the statue are the result of the intense heat and radiation.
 

The annual High Level Political Forum (HLPF) will take place from 8-17 July this year. It functions as the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each year, the forum focuses on a select few SDGs, and government leaders voluntarily report on their national progress toward achievement of these SDGs. The SDGs of focus this year are 1, 2, 13, 16, and 17.

In addition to reports from governments, the HLPF also includes events sponsored by civil society groups, to highlight their perspectives on implementation and progress toward the SDGs in their respective countries. JCoR will join the conversation by offering a series of virtual discussion, which we are calling the “JCoR SDG Lab.” This series will showcase Catholic Religious and their partners’ perspectives on progress and good practices towards sustainable development. It will run from 22-26 July and include sessions dedicated to each of the aforementioned SDGs of focus for the 2024 HLPF.

All are welcome to attend these JCoR SDG Lab sessions. 

Get details and register

As the U.S. grapples with another mass shooting, America’s top doctor issues a first-of-its-kind advisory declaring gun violence a national public health crisis and recommending it be treated as such. 

In a recent 40-page publication, the surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis. What does that do? In a June 25, 2024 NPR article, Dr. Vivek Murthy says “a public health approach can guide the nation’s strategy and actions as it has done in the past with successful efforts to address tobacco-related disease and motor vehicle crashes.” He adds, “It is up to us to take this generational challenge with the urgency and clarity the moment demands. The safety and well-being of our children and future generations are at stake.” Read the full article.

To further understand the report, watch this Meet the Press video.

Please continue to follow, or join the efforts of, Nuns Against Gun Violence. Watch the recording of their June 18, 2024 webinar - “Firearms & Faith: Navigating Catholic Social Teaching in a World of Gun Violence.”