Last week’s post featured remarks by Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington DC about how people without documentation are being treated in this country. He suggested strongly that they and all those being harmed by our current government are our neighbors. It is way past time to speak up and stop the fear-based oppression and deportations.
This week we explore possibilities of how to speak up, and how individually and as communities we can to take action. What follows is based on a talk Actions in Turbulent Times given by Sister Simone Campbell at the October 2 Racial Justice Conversation, a group I help facilitate. (Racial Justice is a support group for people of faith committed to working for racial and social justice. We meet monthly on zoom to learn and support one another in working for justice. If interested in attending, email me at tom@thadams.com.)
Sister Simone is a member of the Catholic Sisters of Social Service, an order of Catholic nuns dedicated to promoting justice, dignity, and service for those living in poverty, especially women and children. Simone helped organize Nuns on a Bus in 2012 to fight for a federal budget that better served families and the poor. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022, and has extensive experience working with, and for people at the economic margins of society.
She provided some practical examples of faith in action and pointed to five principles from Pope Francis’ essay Exhortation on Holiness. What follows are my take aways from her talk on these subjects. A written summary of the talk is available on line.
Sister Simone began her talk by acknowledging her pain in seeing the progress she had fought for in justice and equity dismantled and destroyed. As difficult as that reality is, she pointed to the Gospel and Jesus’s faith and service to the poor, his opposition to unfair laws and rules. “Our action must be grounded in the Gospel and its values. And in prayer and meditation.”
She reminded all present of the importance of daily quiet time to make space to listen for what the Spirit is asking of us. Too often, our compulsions to act cause us to rush and get ahead of the Spirit. We risk acting from ego rather than faith. Contemplative listening informs and guides justice work.
Next Sister Simone emphasized the need to do this work in community. It is hard, and at times very depressing work. Alone it is easy to lose heart and give up. Together in communities of various sizes we encourage and support one another; thus, we get help when the load gets too heavy. Groups who pray, discern, and act together ensure persistence and actions grounded in faith.
Finally, Sister Simone echoed a point I reported in my post last week: Cardinal McElroy of Washington DC said we should speak up for the rights of the undocumented. “It is time to speak up. We have been silent too long.”
She offered several examples of speaking up. Her order of nuns formed a Rapid Response Committee to respond to issues needing action. Among actions taken was a letter writing campaign (hand-written for impact) directed to Chief Justice John Roberts; they encouraged him to follow all his Catholic values in his decisions. The nuns also opposed the Big “Ugly” Bill by asking relatives in key states to advocate against it.
She pointed to a Facebook post by the New York based Sisters of Charity opposing Cardinal Nolan of New York comparing Charlie Kirk to St. Paul. Their action was picked up by the national press.
Sister Simone emphasized five guiding principles offered by Pope Francis in Exhortation on Holiness. They are:
- Perseverance and meekness (meekness is defined as willingness to learn from another. Jesus didn’t give up.)
- Maintaining joy and a sense of humor (the utter foolishness of this administration)
- Passion and boldness (be people of principle)
- Being in community (hope is a communal virtue)
- Living in constant prayer – always being open to the Spirit/prayer that wells up within us. (God is not in places; God is everywhere and holds us together at every moment. Connect with God everywhere.)
The talk ended with Sister Simone sharing a poem she wrote about these times:
Loaves and Fish
I always joked
that the miracle of loaves
and fish was sharing.
The women always knew this.
But in this moment of need
and notoriety, I ache, tremble
almost weep at folks so
hungry, malnourished,
faced with spiritual famine
of epic proportions. My heart
aches with their need.
Apostle like, I whine:
“What are we among so many?”
The consistent 2000-year-old
ever-new response is this:
“Blessed and broken, you are
enough.” I savor the blessed,
cower at the broken and
pray to be enough.
Simone Campbell, SSS
For a summary of Actions in Turbulent Times: A Talk by Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, visit: https://thadams.com/resources/racial-equity-justice/summary-notes-actions-in-turbulent-times-a-talk-by-sister-simone-campbell-sss-october-1-2025/
Thanks, Tom, for these words. While not Catholic, I appreciate the Sister Simone’s call to action, and her reiteration of Pope Francis’e list of exhortations—especially item #2, re cultivating and retaining a sense of humor. It seems that some of protestors in Portland got this in a way that I haven’t seen before. Some dressed in huge, padded frog costumes; some did a nude bicycle parade— fighting ICE not with fire, but with laughter! Truly disarming in every sense of the word,
I love the examples from Portland Shelley. While these are serious matters, there are many ways to protest and get in the way! Thanks for reminding us of th ebreadth of possibiliites!