Webinar 3/3: local and national movements
Join Catholic activists from across the country as we discuss how progressive Catholics can work for transformative social change. Hear from Ruby Fuentes, John Gehring, and Quincy Howard, OP about their work for social, economic, and immigration justice. And hear strategies for how you can connect with local and national movements for justice.
PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICISM IN ACTION: BUILDING LOCAL AND NATIONAL MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE
See also Discerning Our Call To Action: Focusing Our Time and Energy, 10/15/2019
See also Called To Action: CTA Members at their Local Statehouse, 7/30/2019
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Ruby Fuentes works as a community organizer in the Rio Grande Valley with LUPE, a community union founded by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta to builds stronger, healthier communities where colonia residents use the power of civic engagement for social changes. A recent graduate in Psychology and Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, she has also worked as a social media content creator for the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and an 8th grade catechist at St. John the Baptist in San Juan, TX. Raised Catholic in the Texas/Mexico border, she has witnessed socioeconomic inequality and political division in light of the reconstruction of the border wall and increased militarization, but also the unity of a community serving those in need, visible in the influx of Central Americans seeking refuge in the Humanitarian Respite Center. She is committed to being a bridge to unify her community through media documentation and public service. Ruby participated in the 2019 Re/Generation program.
John Gehring is Catholic Program Director at Faith in Public Life. He is author of The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope's Challenge to the American Catholic Church. His analysis has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, Time, Politico, Crux, Commonweal, America and the National Catholic Reporter. His television and radio appearances include MSNBC, Fox, Bloomberg, National Public Radio and the BBC. A former associate director for media relations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Gehring has been a staff writer at The Catholic Review, The Frederick Gazette and Education Week. He has contributing essays in Pope Francis and The Future of Catholicism in the United States: The Challenge of Becoming a Church for the Poor (University of San Francisco, Lane Center) and Voting and Holiness: Catholic Perspectives on Political Participation (Paulist Press). He is a contributing editor at Commonweal magazine, and an adjunct professor of journalism at American University. Gehring is a graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his children Sophie and Leo.
Quincy Howard, OP is part of NETWORK's Government Relations team working with lawmakers and their staff to advance NETWORK’s policy platform in Congress. She plans and carries out targeted strategies for pushing NETWORK’s Mend the Gaps agenda on Capitol Hill by coordinating with our grassroots mobilization team and with coalition partner organizations in the faith community and beyond. Quincy brings her experience in urban planning to NETWORK—including community development, disaster recovery and resilience planning, environmental advocacy, and policy analysis. A professed Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, Quincy is passionate about Catholic Social Justice and the call to action to protect and serve the most vulnerable members of society.
