March 2009 - Volume 2, Issue 2
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Peace and All Good!
Our "Old Ideas" Are the New Ideas
the World Needs
by Russell Testa
FAN Executive Director
, February was a busy month for the work of social transformation. In particular, FAN members participated in shaping a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by sending more than 300 messages to their elected officials.
While there were many items we might have changed in the bill, overall, we were pleased with it. Of particular interest to us were those components that provided direct help to persons who were poor or in need. Meaures such as increased unemployment support, increased availability of food and other assistance, and infrastructure build-outs to help create jobs reflected our values.
As Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people, we must recognize that we approach economic issues and their impact on people differently than many.
While others might measure the success or failure of an effort by the response of the stock market, a decrease in the number of people requiring assistance from our soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and ministries is a more relevant indicator to us.
In this newsletter, each piece invites us to enter into deeper reflection about what we, as Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people, bring to the conversation. Our world is looking for new directions and new insights, even if they come from our centuries-old tradition.
In addition to the insights of these articles, there are other tools available to us, as a powerful network of people animated by Franciscan values, to hone our message of social transformation. We suggest to you:
- Visit our website's new Discussion Forums to add to the conversation (member login required)
- Invite others to be engaged in upcoming advocacy efforts on climate change, economic, and peace and justice issues by becoming members of FAN.
2009 marks the 800th anniversary of the formal founding of the Franciscan movement. The milestone humbles us. This year also marks FAN's 1st anniversary; a milestone that can inspire us. Both events call us to look again at what our Franciscan tradition has to offer our world today.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do, as part of FAN, to bring about social transformation. |
Is it Fair?
Implications for a Shared Economic Recovery
by Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM
In proposing an economy that cares for the most needy, FAN acknowledges that complex policy questions may polarize the debate under the rubric "fairness." Two much-debated areas are housing policy and taxes. As some propose to  help people by adjusting mortgage rates, others ask: is it fair? Is it fair that one homeowner gets relief for overextending him or herself and by living in a house that is far beyond his or her capacity to afford? Moreover, it is fair that his or her neighbor, who has made timely payments and lived within his or her means, is not getting help? Is it fair that the very top tax bracket may carry up to 40% of the tax burden? Is it fair to raise the capital gains tax rate on the top bracket from 15% to 20%?
These are difficult questions. In responding to them, one must go to the heart of one's value system. Click to read more.+ + + For responses to some frequently asked questions about the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (a.k.a. the "stimulus" bill) which exemplify FAN's stance of support for the act, click here.
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The Man From Oberlin
Local Efforts Reform Immigration Enforcement by Fr. Larry Janezic, OFM
FAN Issue Advocate
One of the more devastating policies in immigration enforcement is the 287 (g) contract. This policy enables local officials to enforce immigration policy. The policy has created situations where local law enforcement efforts have been diverted away from injurious crime and has kindled the fires of racism.
FAN would like to highlight the story of Mark Fahringer, and his involvement in changing local implementation of immigration policy by challenging the 278 (g). Click to read more.+ + +
To join other Catholics in an effort to develop just, fair, and humane immigration reform, consider coming to a training for immigration advocacy sponsored by Justice for Immigrants, a program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The training will be held in Cincinnati, OH, March 26 - 28. For more information, visit http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org.
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FAN Research Analyst Offers a Franciscan Perspective on Recession
Fr. David Couturier, OFM Cap., highlights comprehensive Franciscan approaches in two white papers
Excerpt from the first paper, Franciscans and the Financial Crisis: What We Can Do To Help:
"America is facing an unprecedented financial crisis. Credit is tightening, unemployment is rising and the cost of living is going up. Increasingly, Americans are afraid that they're going to lose their jobs and the vital medical benefits that go along with them. This recession is forecasted to be longer, deeper and harder than anything we have seen since the Great Depression. Franciscans are not immune to these global dynamics. Our institutions will feel the crunch. What can we do to weather this "perfect storm?" What can we do to help our brothers and sisters get through and make sense of this economic crisis? What in the Franciscan tradition can help us rebuild a legitimate economic security? This paper looks at the history of this crisis and outlines some principles and tools Franciscans can use to make sure that our next steps in the economic world are sure and just."
Click here to view a PDF of Franciscans and the Financial Crisis.
Excerpt from the second paper, Franciscans and Revenue Generation: Paying for Our Economic Recovery:
"Congress has passed,and the President has signed,the 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.' It is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression. By any measure, it is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart a failing economy with hundreds of billions of dollars. Much of our attention thus far has been focused on how and where to spend these billions of stimulus dollars. Little attention has been paid on ways we (and not the next generation) can pay for this rescue and recovery. This paper looks at revenue generation as an economic necessity and as an extension of the Franciscan principles of the fraternal economy, especially that of equity.
Click here to view a PDF of Franciscans and Revenue Generation.
Join the discussion about the economic crisis and Franciscan responses. Visit
(Member login required) | |
FAN Reaches Out to Institutions of Higher Learning; Seeks to Build, Enhance Relationships
Article by Russ Testa in AFCU Journal appeals for"intellectual expertise" of professors, students
by Peter Sloan
Director, Development & Communications FAN Executive Director Russell M. Testa made the case for a closer working relationship between the Franciscan Action Network and Franciscan Colleges and Universities in the January 2009 issue of the AFCU Journal (Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities, Volume 6, Number 1). Mr. Testa cites "ministerial membership" as a leading edge of the network's development strategy. At present, the advocacy family is enjoying remarkable growth. Forty-two institutions (with two more set to join) and one thousand seven hundred individuals number themselves "members" of the Franciscan Action Network.
To read more, and to get a download of Russ Testa's article, click here. To comment on the ongoing mission of FAN, visit http://www.franciscanaction.org/forums
and click on "Mission, Vision, and Values."
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FRANCISCAN INSPIRATION
Lady Poverty and Economy
...of Salvation
'Blessed are the poor in spirit because
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'
--Mt. 5:3
by Peter Sloan,
FAN Director of Development & Communications
There are 12 articles that relate to "economy" on the FAN website. In his white paper, "Franciscans and the Financial Crisis," David Couturier, OFM Cap writes that "Franciscans have always been involved in the economic questions of the day." Economy is a natural subject for Franciscans; natural because our charism is steeped in poverty. "Holy Poverty," we read in the prologue of The Sacred Exchange between Saint Francis and Lady Poverty, is the "foundation and guardian of all virtues. She shines with a certain prerogative before them all."
If history be our judge, the poor and vulnerable have shone with no such 'prerogative' before the rulers of this world. Advocating on their behalf has been a 'prerogative' of the Franciscan Action Network since the crisis began. True stability, we wrote back in the fall of 08, occurs when the poor and most vulnerable receive favorable consideration. "Inequity," Fr. David writes in the latest installment of his insightful series, "is not just bad for morale, it's bad for business." Fairness always pays dividends; a "win-win" proposition in the long run.
Yet, we must be careful never to sell virtue to vice. Charity and justice need answer to no market index. Lady Poverty requires no 21st century apologist to dull her prophetic edge. The line is drawn in the same place that it has been drawn for centuries: "No servant can serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and Money." (Lu 16:13, Mt 6:24)
Click here to read more.
Join the discussion about economic justice from a Franciscan perspective! Visit
and click on "economic justice" to share your vision.
(Member login required.) | |
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FAN Website Opens Discussion Forums for Members
As can be seen at the end of every story in this month's newsletter, members of the Franciscan Action Network
now have a new reason to frequent FAN's website.
Beginning February 16, FAN initiated a revamped version of the Discussion Groups section of its site. Now called "Discussion Forums," and accessible here, the upgrade provides a more user-friendly interface to enable FAN members all across the U.S. and beyond to more actively contribute to "transforming the world in the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare."
The forums, which require FAN members to login with their username and password, are a way of carrying on extended informal discussions about specific topics via text posts. The main page lists all currently open "forums" or discussions, with a brief description of each, as well as the headline of the most recent topic posted in each forum. Also included on the main page is a listing of the total number of topics in each forum. Within each forum, topics are listed in chronological order of posting, so it is possible for a person to follow the flow of a conversation from the initial post to the most recent one by scrolling down the page.
At the bottom of each forum page is an area for members to post a reply and add to the conversation. Clearly marked buttons enable visitors to start a new topic under any open forum. The main page includes a place to suggest additional forum topics directly to the FAN Action Center in Washington, D.C.
"The Discussion Forums provide members across the country with a straightforward and intuitive online interface by which to interact with all key constituencies of the organization, including the grassroots base, the Action Center staff, the Action Commission, and the Board of Directors," said Marc DelMonico, FAN's Web Outreach Coordinator. Simultaneously, the feature provides all of these groups with the opportunity to engage in an open exchange of ideas about the mission, activities, and projects of FAN. Likening it to a virtual "Franciscan public square," DelMonico envisions the Discussion Forums as part of a long-term investment in the interactive dimension of the FAN website. To read about other enhancements to the FAN website, click here.
To visit the new discussion forums page (member login required), click here.
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OTHER NEWS
Membership Campaign Update
As FAN celebrates its one year anniversary, we can boast a membership that has gone from zero to almost 1800 Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people in less than a year!
However, we still remain short of our initial membership goal. Take ten minutes to invite others you think may be supportive of FAN's work to become members. Ask again if those you initially approached did not respond the first time! Let's continue to grow our movement and add more voices so that we can "transform the world in the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi."
Franciscan Action Commission to Meet in DC
Members of the core group of persons that forms the centerpiece of FAN's agenda - our Action Commission - will be meeting with the FAN Action Center Staff and Board of Directors in mid-March. Please keep them in your prayers.
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