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| FRANCISCAN INSPIRATION |
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Election
by Peter L. Sloan, Director, Development & Communications
November 5, 2008
Neither Francis nor Clare held civil office but both were politically minded. Both were forthright in confronting corruption and in encouraging virtue. (For the politics of St. Clare, see "WWCS (What Would Clare Say?") Francis exhorts the civil authorities, in A Letter to the Rulers of the Peoples, to be mindful of Gospel truths. Likely composed after his trip to Damietta, Egypt, Francis was just twenty-nine when he sent the letter to the mayors, judges, magistrates and governors of the Assisi region.
"I beg you not to forget the Lord because of this world's cares and preoccupations," he wrote. In Francis's urgency, we may read a compassion for the rulers themselves, for their peril in assuming a mantle of authority. However Francis does not allow compassion to mince his message.
"Death is approaching," he reminded them, and "everything [you] think you have shall be taken from you." The letter reproves our material focus as well. In it, St. Francis asks us and our rulers, what is prosperity? Can it be measured in dollars and cents? Can we take monetary "prosperity" with us when we die?
Until our new "rulers" are sworn into office, they will be referred to by their office with the word "elect" tacked onto it (e.g. "President-elect" or "Senator-elect"). May this temporary custom remind us of a permanent truth: that the election that matters most is the election of the heart. It is this Gospel truth that Francis begs us all not to forget.
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| RECENT PRESS |
| FAN in the News
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Election Aftermath: What's Next?
The results are in. The American people have spoken. The 2008 national elections have given us a new president and a new congress. As the nation shifts from focusing on the hard-fought campaign to our new national agenda, how do Gospel values inform our policy priorities?
Join Russell Testa, executive director of the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) and Kathie Salie, director of Domestic Social Policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), for a hands-on interactive event to learn how we can focus a faith-filled lens on major issues in our world -- health care, immigration, climate change ... and more! The event takes place at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona on Saturday, November 15. Come for all or part of the day!
For more information and to download a PDF flyer and registration form, click here.
Save the Dates!
March 13 - 16, 2009
Washington, DC.
The theme this year will focus on legislative response to global climate change. FAN is a co-sponsor of EAD and will host a major event during the conference. An international Franciscan speaker also will deliver the keynote address to open the conference! You won't want to miss this event! Visit:
today to register early ... Go Green and save some "green"!
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| RESOURCES |
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Peace Made Flesh: A Franciscan Advent Program
The Holy Name Province JPIC Office, together with the Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, has developed a prayer and reflection resource called Peace Made Flesh for Advent 2008.
Advent certainly is a time when we are invited to consider what the coming of the Prince of Peace means for our world.
Today's world is ravaged by war, ethnic violence, gang violence, crime, and the destruction of nature. With the rising economic crisis, we are also struck by the growing gap between rich and poor. All of these challenges require us to turn to prayer, to our Franciscan tradition, and to seek guidance for the New Year, so that we might truly foster peace in our world. 2009 will bring us a new president and a new congress and, with them, a new opportunity to determine what course we should take as a nation.
Clearly, Advent 2008 is a time for prayer.
The Peace Made Flesh reflection will offer:
- daily reflections on the seasonal Scriptures, along with Franciscan stories
- daily prayers for peace
- opportunities to try new practices and skills for peacemaking
- invitations to take action for peace, and
- an on-going process to help deepen your Advent faith experience
For more information on this program, please contact Russell Testa, animator for the JPIC Office for Holy Name Province.
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| DIRECTORY |
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Find FAN on your favorite social networking sites:
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Peace and All Good!
Earlier this week, on November 4th, we experienced the culmination of an historic presidential campaign. Whether you supported Senator Obama or Senator McCain, or an independent candidate, we all can celebrate the fact that the U.S. has moved forward in its election of an African-American to the Presidency. We still have a ways to go to deal with racism in the U.S., but this moment in history clearly represents a great step along the way.
The other reality is that, now, all of our shared work as FAN is even more important. Our new President and the new Congress will not necessarily move on our Franciscan agenda unless we are effective and organized advocates. People who are poor and marginalized and the larger creation are counting on us to do the work that is ours to do. To make inroads, we need to grow our numbers to amplify our shared voice for social transformation.
One event that will enable us to share our message directly with our members of Congress is Ecumenical Advocacy Days, March 13-16, 2009, in Washington, DC. This weekend event, which culminates on Monday with visits to our members of Congress on Capitol Hill, will have a particularly Franciscan flavor as we will be advocating to help solve the challenge of global climate change. The event also will include a celebration of the Franciscan charism and our 800th Anniversary as a recognized movement for social change. It is not too early to register and plan for your involvement in Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2009.
In this month's newsletter, we are pleased to offer you some pieces to move forward our shared agenda for social transformation:
Peter Sloan offered a short piece (above) looking at the "example of advocacy" offered by Br. Francis in his Letter to the Rulers.
Larry Janezic, OFM provides some insight into the issue of immigration reform and what we, as Franciscans, bring to the advancement of this agenda.
Marc DelMonico gives us an update and a reminder invitation with regard to our ongoing effort to bring a Franciscan voice to our current economic crisis.
Finally, as always, the newsletter includes links to resources and other items to help each of us grow the Franciscan Action Network and, more importantly, to share our Franciscan vision. All of us are important components of FAN and share in its success or failure. Through each of our prayers, actions for advocacy, and invitations to others to join us, we participate and carry this mission forward.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Together, we can assume the role that is ours to take in transforming the world.
FAN Executive Director
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| Franciscans and the Economy Update
by Marc DelMonico
Web Outreach
As the worldwide economic crisis has intensified over the past several weeks, FAN has worked hard to develop a uniquely Franciscan response to the challenges that our government and the financial industries have been grappling with and to offer a vision that integrates spiritual perspectives, local and national solutions, and practical suggestions for Franciscan communities and ministries.
If you have not had a chance to review the efforts of this focused, two-week "mini-campaign" from October, click here to visit our website page dedicated to the economic crisis.
One of the activities associated with the second week of the campaign is an open-ended action alert. Members of FAN are invited to email their Members of Congress to reinforce key values associated with an economic recovery effort aimed at responding to the critical needs of those who are poor and struggling in the wake of the crisis. To take action, click here (member login required).
Some members of FAN already have responded. 61 Members of Congress have heard our call for them to return for a post-election session to address the needs of low income homeowners and the unemployed, as well as to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable populations and invest in efforts to build up local infranstructure. But a stronger effort on the part of FAN members is necessary in this critical time so that persons suffering the most in this harsh economic climate may get the relief they need.
Please take action today, using our automated email system to identify your Members of Congress and to send a pre-crafted letter (which you can personalize) to them. These few moments of your day and few clicks of the mouse can have a dramatic impact on our efforts to promote a Congressional economic recovery plan rooted in Franciscan values.
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Criminal Law Senior Seminar at Neumann College Takes On Issues in Immigration
A popular thinking of our time prefers to see issues of immigration as a simple matter of enforcement and border security. Many insist that the issues of immigration can be resolved through massive deportation. This kind of thinking is seriously challenged by Mr. Joseph Gosseaux, instructor in Criminal Law at Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania and founder of the Department of Criminal Law at Neumann College. As a retired agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Gosseaux's perspective draws from real life experience in the enforcement of criminal law.
Mr. Gosseaux invited Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM, of the Franciscan Action Network to be a guest speaker at his senior seminar. This year's seminar focuses on immigration. Fr. Larry spoke about immigration from an advocate's point of view.
"The complexity of the issues expresses the need for comprehensive policy reform," Fr. Larry said.
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Sincerely,
Russell Testa, Executive Director
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The FAN Action Center Staff
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