Coronavirus and our Public Policy Pathology
COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) is revealing the seriousness of our public policy failures here in the U.S. It begins with our lack of universal healthcare.
Getting in the Game: On Advocacy and Activism
As of the writing of this essay, the Democratic presidential primary is underway and the Louisiana Legislative session will begin on March 9. I considered writing about the necessity of doing our civic duty to vote. While this is true, I decided to go one-step further in how we discuss civic duty.
A Prophetic Voice: Guatemalan Cardinal Visits Distraught Mississippi Immigrant Families
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<p>Dr. Weishar reflects on Cardinal Ramazzini's visit to Mississippi.</p>
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Early in his pontificate Pope Francis presented his vision of the Church in the world-- that of a “field hospital” for the wounded. In a 2013 interview with Jesuit journalist Antonio Spadaro, S.J., he said,
Failing the Moral Test as a Nation
The Trump Administration’s capitulation to a Turkish invasion of Kurdish regions of Syria has begun to displace thousands of Kurdish civilians fleeing war’s destruction and death. They join more than 70 million refugees and internally displaced people fleeing for their lives worldwide.
After the Mississippi ICE Raids: Families Ask Why; Churches Respond
Bigots, Bullets and Blood: 400 years of white terrorism from Jamestown to El Paso
Medicare and Medicaid: 54 Years and Counting
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Medicare and Medicaid. These programs were created to provide access to health care to those most likely to be uninsured: the elderly (Medicare) and the poor (Medicaid). Indeed, a majority of these folks did not have health insurance; and, if they did have access to care through the network of charity hospitals, it was largely limited and stigmatizing.
Context Matters
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<p>Dr. Mitchell speaks to the history of racism in the U.S.</p>
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Have you ever noticed that during any conversation about racism, someone will inevitably say that “no one alive today was a slave” or that “segregation ended a long time ago—get over it!” It’s a pretty common response to assertions about the impact of racism. When someone says that, all that is being asserted is that history does not matter...and we all know that isn’t true.
Living the Mission of Connectedness
Last month in this column [1] Fred Kammer, SJ, treated the four Jesuit universal preferences for the future of our ministries, noting that “preferences” are more inclusive than that other oft-used term “priorities,” which tend to exclude more than they include.
Four for the Future: New Jesuit Universal Preferences
Early last year, the Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, SJ, invited Jesuits and our colleagues worldwide to provide input in developing what are called “universal apostolic preferences.” These are to guide all Jesuit ministries for the next ten years. Here in Loyola’s Ignatius Chapel, on a Saturday in April of 2018, Jesuits and colleagues from Loyola University, Jesuit High School, Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Immaculate Conception Parish, and Manresa Retreat