Our third July Feature Friday group is the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa.

I first visited the sisters while working on a nuclear disarmament campaign. They are great peace and justice allies and when they say they will take action, they mean it. When working on a statewide social justice campaign, it is important to include the Franciscans.

Following is a summary of their mission from the website:

The Franciscan Peace Center was created to promote active nonviolence in society. Integrating Franciscan spirituality with action, the Center carries out the advocacy work of the corporate public stands taken by the Clinton Franciscans. These issues include nuclear disarmament, immigration reform, abolition of the death penalty, care for creation, abolishing human trafficking, and promoting human rights and decreasing income inequality.

That work can take many forms: influencing lawmakers, prayer, educating individuals, mobilizing citizens to participate in the democratic process, and giving a voice to impoverished and marginalized people. The Franciscan Peace Center sponsors events and programming to help accomplish our advocacy goals and to educate people about active nonviolence.

The Action Alert Digest is a weekly compilation of current news about these mission issues. It also includes opportunities for individuals to take action online to join in advocacy efforts. You are invited to sign up to receive the weekly Action Alert Digest emails by clicking HERE.

For a listing of upcoming programs, please visit the News & Events page.

The Franciscan Peace Center invites you to explore each of these topics to learn what they have done, what they are currently doing, what needs to be done, and how you can be part of the solutions. Are you inspired to make a commitment? Learn how you can make a difference in the Get Involved section of our website.

The Franciscan Peace Center is guided by these principles:

The Two Feet of Social Action      

People often think of social action as works of charity. Others label works of charity as social justice. The two feet of social action model, developed by Msgr. Marv Mottet of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, visually makes clear that social action involves both charitable works and social justice efforts aimed at root causes and systemic change.

Catholic Social Teaching     

The Catholic Church has a rich history of teachings on social concerns, beginning with Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor) in 1891 up through the encyclical Fratelli Tutti in 2020. The teachings consist of seven basic themes, which guide concerns of implementation. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has provided a description of the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching, along with a list of the Church documents on social concerns on its website.

The Franciscan action alerts have relevant and meaningful items calling for action. Sign up here.

Find their website here.

Read our first July Feature Friday post here. Find the second one here.