Considering a JustChurch Campaign?

When a chapter faces injustice, it does not face it alone. Call To Action and all Catholics of good will recognize that injustice done to one member of the body of Christ is injustice done to all. As such, if you are a CTA Chapter or a Catholic who has experienced a church injustice, we welcome you to join us in the movement for a JustChurch.

The JustChurch program is based on the nonviolent principles that come to us from church justice and social justice advocates of our past, such as St. Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Jesus practiced nonviolence in his daily quest to attend to the suffering around him and to advocate for change in the religious and governmental structures of his day. Today, we Catholics also find ourselves deeply moved by the suffering that affects our daily lives in both personal and global ways. As such, we feel called to respond, as Christ did, to the suffering in our church and society.

In order to respond in an effective way, Call To Action has set up a program that uses nonviolence theory which attends to the areas where suffering and injustice is at its cruelest and brings that injustice to light in the minds and hearts of those who can help to transform the situation. In our Catholic context, that means going to the areas where the hierarchical church or government is perpetrating its worst abuses of power and bringing those situations to the consciousness in the souls of Catholics across the United States and beyond so that, together, we might help create a more just church. CTA has set up an electronic action center on its website and will publish accounts in its monthly publications so that CTA members may read about the locations where some of the worst abuses of power are happening and discover how Catholics are rising up to put an end to the suffering. Individual members and chapters may sign up for email alerts and will be notified to take action at key times to help the people and places where the injustice is occurring—by praying, writing letters, making calls, or even, in some cases, sending delegations to be with those who are engaged in the local struggle. Additionally, through our monthly publications, annual conference, local synods and downloadable resources for individuals and chapters, we will offer opportunities for Catholics to cultivate a deeper understanding of the history, spirituality and skillset of nonviolent activism in the Christian tradition.

If a chapter faces an injustice, we encourage them to contact the national Call To Action office. Together, the local chapter and the national office will decide if this is an issue to which the national office is able to respond and/or if there are local measures that may be taken to ameliorate and/or stop the suffering. If it is determined by both the local and national parties that this is an issue in which the national office should be involved, the local chapter may decide to have its struggle become a national JustChurch campaign.

If there is an emerging injustice where a CTA chapter does not currently exist, but there is a group of individuals who would like the support of Call To Action, we invite them to contact Call To Action’s national office. The individual(s) will be invited to begin a chapter and/or to begin discussions with the national staff regarding their situation and the possibility of becoming a national JustChurch campaign site. Unless agreed upon by both parties, we expect all campaign efforts by both the local chapter/group or by CTA’s national office to be publicly known as joint efforts.

Call To Action/National is able to offer the following support to local chapters, depending on the particular strategy as outlined by the national and local chapter in their discussions:

• Work with the local chapter to identify a goal(s) that would bring about a more JustChurch in the local situation
• Post the local situation on the CTA website, including the local contact info.
• Send national action alerts to CTA members to take action to achieve the above goal(s)
• Provide the local chapter with a listing of all CTA members in the area who could be mobilized to help take action on the campaign
• Offer media consultation
• Offer organizing training/consultation—fees for travel will be paid by local chapter
• Facilitate a monthly conference call during which the local chapters engaged in JustChurch will share information about the state of their struggle and gain support for their specific campaign.

The local chapter will also be able to assist in specific methods that will aid in the journey towards a more just church. Some of these ways include:

• Work with CTA/National to identify a goal(s) that would bring about a more just church in the local situation
• Share information and pictures with CTA/National to be posted on their website/newsletter to help spread the word about the campaign to a national audience.
• Gather local members email addresses, with the approval of individuals, and share them with CTA to be added to the national action alert list so that local members may receive action alerts to help take part in the campaign.
• Identify the chapter’s representative to the national office and that representative will participate in monthly JustChurch conference calls; will attend CTA’s annual conference (conference registration will be waived for the chapter’s representative)
• Mobilize members in the local area who may be able to take action on the campaign

Click Here to download this covenant in pdf format

If you have any questions or would like to explore the possibility of beginning a JustChurch campaign, contact CTA’s National Office at 773.404.0004 and ask for the JustChurch Coordinator. We look forward to working with you for a just church in your local diocese!