Act against Catholic polarization
As our nation and Church face polarization and divisiveness — and as Pope Francis extols the Church to work for the common good of humanity — American Church leadership still advises, endorses and supports apostolates perpetuating this divide. These apostolates (organizations dedicated to service or evangelization) skew the rich breath of Catholic thought and social doctrine into a narrow theological pedigree, in what has been described as a synergy of money, politics and religion.
Three prominent apostolates are Napa Institute, Relevant Radio and Angelus News. All three have a national scope and affiliation with Archbishop José Gomez, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Napa Institute, drawing on the writings of Archbishop Chaput, offers conferences at exclusive resorts and hotels bringing together influential clergy, politicians, business leaders and apostolates from a conservative Catholic perspective. Relevant Radio is a coast-to-coast network with a potential listening audience of 220+ million Americans. Angelus News is the media platform for Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest archdiocese, and has alliances with CRUX and EWTN's Catholic News Agency.
We have created letter templates you can customize with individual observations, experiences and requests to craft a personalized letter to Church leadership affiliated with these three apostolates. Letters mailed and received in diocesan offices of the bishops are most effective, since most diocesan electronic media platforms offer a generic comment form or email that provide minimal impact. If you don't have access to print a letter, consider calling the offices of Church leadership and use the letter templates as talking points.
“Given the nature, message and objectives of the Napa Institute, we ask that you reconsider and dismiss your affiliation with this organization.”
“Using your leadership position at Relevant Radio, may you encourage its programming to portray the Catholic Church as a voice for unity, with sincere, open dialogue and action on critical issues in our nation and world.”
“With your leadership, may the Angelus come to exemplify a media platform for balanced reporting of contemporary issues and voices by authors and media sources with foundational journalistic credentials.”
