“Well, what a summer it's been!” says Joan Neal at the start of this week’s episode. And August only just began!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind in U.S. politics. A shooting targeting former president Trump left many injured and two people, including the shooter, dead. Coming off a debate performance that raised concerns about his age, President Biden withdrew his bid for reelection and quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman in U.S. history to be the presumptive nominee of a major party. And just this past week, Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate—with only 85 days left until the 2024 election.

To make sense of all this, Laura Peralta-Schulte joins Just Politics this week. Peralta-Schulte is the senior director of public policy and government relations at NETWORK.

“While the media likes to focus on the horse races ... what we're really talking about is who is going to represent us that will pass paid leave, make sure kids are not hungry, make sure that everybody has access to affordable healthcare,” Peralta-Schulte says.

Sometimes, hearing from policy wonks can leave us feeling like things are actually worse than we thought. But Peralta-Schulte offers a hopeful read of this election season, pointing to the many people already engaging with energy, inspiration, and solidarity. “It's not Pentecost,” she says, “but it seems like it sometimes when you have folks going to their parishes and doing voter education and voter registration in places like Cleveland.”

Peralta-Schulte points to NETWORK’s online resources and tools that anyone can use to get informed on the issues, find voter registration and polling place information, and take action. And she offers an invitation to NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus & Friends tour, hitting the road this fall.

Learn more about what’s going on, what you can do, and why we remain hopeful and engaged on this week’s episode of the Just Politics podcast.

NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Additional Resources:

NETWORK’s 2024 Election Resource Page
http://networkadvocates.org/be-a-voter

NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Checklist
https://networkadvocates.org/equally-sacred-multi-issue-voter-checklist/

Nuns on the Bus & Friends “Vote Our Future” Tour
http://nunsonthebus.org/

In 2023, after receiving a transformational gift from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice was finally able to begin working on an issue they’d been feeling called to for a long time: climate justice.

That gift came to fruition a few months ago with the hiring of a full-time climate lobbyist: Drake Starling, a Cuban-American Miami native with a background in international environmental law. Having worked in a global context, Starling is clear on the urgency of transitioning away from fossil fuels. “If your bathtub is overflowing, you're not going to get a mop,” he says. “Transitioning away from fossil fuels is turning off the bathroom spigot.”

Drake joins his colleagues on this episode of Just Politics to share more about his own story and Catholic social justice commitments, the biggest challenges and possibilities he sees in climate advocacy, and what gives him hope in the work to save the planet.

For starters, he says, we should “try to start making everyone aware that climate change legislation equals good jobs.”

NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Learn more on this week’s episode of Just Politics.

Additional resources:

NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Issues: Freedom to Live on a Healthy Planet
https://www.nunsonthebus.org/equally-sacred/freedom-to-live-on-a-healthy-planet/

Learn more about the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions
https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act

Read about FSPA’s gift to NETWORK for Climate Justice Work
https://networklobby.org/news/fspa-climate-gift/

Learn more about “Cancer Alley”
https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse

When it comes to people organizing to stop gun violence, you probably first think of moms (see Moms Demand Action). But there is another growing unified voice against gun violence and the policies that enable it—that of Catholic nuns.

Last year, communities of Catholic sisters and their partners formed Nuns Against Gun Violence to educate about, pray for, and advocate for policies that free us from the threat of gun violence—and to accompany communities ravaged by it.

In this episode, two members of Nuns Against Gun Violence join us on Just Politics. Lisa Cathelyn is the justice and peace coordinator for the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and Sister of St. Joseph Annette McDermott is the justice, peace, and integrity of creation coordinator for her community and a member of the Nuns Against Gun Violence steering committee.

“There was a real concern that the issue of gun violence was escalating,” McDermott says. “And I'd have to say, honestly, there was a part where I don't think one of us could hear once again, ‘We're sending you our thoughts and prayers.’ What could we do?”

Since its formation, Nuns Against Gun Violence has led educational webinars, candlelight vigils, billboard ads, legislative advocacy efforts, and more.

“We must care for communities to prevent harm, we must hold people accountable for their actions, and we must also work and have public policy that promotes the common good,” Cathelyn says.

Many people across the country feel like they hear of a new mass shooting each time they turn on the news. “Gun violence is a public health crisis. No one is unaffected by it,” Cathelyn says. But, she says, Nuns Against Gun Violence seeks to offer hope and action for a better reality. “We reject the toxic idols of violence, of weapons, and we announce something different,” she says.

Learn more about protecting our freedom to live in safe communities on this week’s episode of the Just Politics podcast.

Note: NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Additional resources:

Nuns Against Gun Violence
https://nunsagainstgunviolence.org/

Gun Violence Archive
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Resources – Freedom from Harm
https://www.nunsonthebus.org/equally-sacred/freedom-from-harm/

Moms Demand Action
https://momsdemandaction.org/