This Week in the World

As we begin a new year, we are preparing for a new chapter for our advocacy.

With the new Trump administration just weeks away, the 119th Congress is officially underway with new members being sworn in beginning today.

As we look to challenging work ahead, we are also taking a moment to reflect on the pain and progress of the past year.

BREAKING: Today, the Senate unanimously passed the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 1723)! This is “a landmark milestone in the fight for truth and healing,” FCNL’s Rachel Overstreet said. It is also a major testament to your advocacy and the courageous, persistent efforts of Native advocates and boarding schools survivors. Now, the House must follow suit and move swiftly to pass this vital legislation before the end of the 118th Congress on Jan. 3, 2025.

This week, FCNL’s Daren Caughron reflected on his experience attending COP29, the latest of a series of major international climate conferences held annually since 1995.

In historic votes Wednesday evening, 19 senators sent a strong message: U.S. complicity in the Israeli government’s catastrophic war in Gaza is unacceptable and must end!

On Wednesday, were thrilled to have hundreds of Friends and advocates join us as we kicked off our 2024 Quaker Public Policy Institute (QPPI).

Reflecting on our time so far together, two words stand out: inspiration and gratitude.

Yesterday, we were inspired by the courageous advocacy of hundreds of advocates who went to Capitol Hill to stand up against U.S. complicity in the horrors ongoing in the Middle East.

“We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party or against the other.” Rather, “we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation … that these things may abound.”
 

This week, we were grateful that millions of people participated in our democracy and that the elections were conducted in a broadly fair, free, and peaceful manner.

The 2024 election is officially underway, with millions casting votes this week ahead of Election Day next Tuesday.

With so much at stake, many are feeling anxious, concerned, and overwhelmed. You’re not alone.

We are gravely concerned over the threat of political violence. The threats of white Christian nationalism and authoritarianism. The threats against immigrants and many other marginalized communities.

In a historic speech today, President Joe Biden offered a formal apology to Native communities for the U.S. government’s Indian Boarding Schools policies.

The apology marked the first time a president has acknowledged the injustice of the assimilation the U.S. government tried to impose through Indian boarding schools. It resulted in widespread, horrific abuses that Native children endured, and the inter-generational harm that continues today.

This week, FCNL’s Amelia Kegan joined “Nuns on the Bus and Friends” bus tour to mobilize people around the nation to vote for our future and support an inclusive democracy.

The nonpartisan voter education tour was organized by NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice. “We need everyone, building community, to help build this vision of the country where every person is free to fulfill their potential and truly flourish,” Amelia said.

On the one-year anniversary of the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, we took some time this week to reflect and mourn the lives lost and forever changed that day, and in all the days since. As we hold everyone impacted by this horrible violence in the Light, we know that war is not the answer.