Ignatian Solidarity Network Inc

IGNATIAN FAMILY TEACH-IN FOR JUSTICEFrom October 28-30, 2023, in Washington, D.C., nearly 2,000 individuals gathered for the Ignatian Solidarity Networks 26th annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ). The 2023 teach-ins theme, Boundless and Beloved, invited attendees to root themselves in the history of the Teach-In and the legacy of the Jesuit martyrs and their companionskilled in 1989 in El Salvador for their commitment to standing with the oppressedand to renew a commitment to addressing todays injustices with creativity, courage, and resiliencetraits embodied by the first Teach-In in Georgia twenty-five years ago. The weekends keynote speakers included Ellie Hidalgo, Sister Norma Pimentel, and Monique Trusclair Maddox. Sunday concluded with Catholic mass, with presider Rev. Joseph OKeefe, S.J. The Teach-In culminated with a public witness in Washington, D.C.s Union Square and a legislative advocacy day on Capitol Hill. Over 1,000 attendees met Congressional members or their staffs to discuss humane approaches to immigration policy and call for increased action to respond to the realities of climate change. The advocacy was the nations largest Catholic advocacy day in 2023.

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONSIn FY 2023-2024, ISN welcomed more than 195,000 website visitors and nearly 65,000 subscribers to our regular social justice newsletters. ISNs growth in reach also encompasses a host of social media platforms, with more than 27,000 followers on Facebook, more than 17,000 on Twitter, more than 13,000 on Instagram, and nearly 1,500 on YouTube. ISNs website is a hub for online campaigns, in-person program registration, and various resources related to Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian spirituality to social justice work. Education for Justice, acquired by Ignatian Solidarity Network in January 2019, has become a core element of ISNs resource offerings. As of June 30, 2024, more than 1,160 Catholic educators and ministers are active members of Education for Justice through over 700 individual and institutional memberships. Through Education for Justice, the Ignatian Solidarity Network adds three to five new relevant resources each month to a digital library totaling over 2,500 total items, including prayers, discussion guides, lesson plans, and much more.

MIGRATION JUSTICE PROGRAMMINGISN continued to build its network of immigration advocates, addressing issues including the right to seek asylum, border policy, and support for DACA recipients and undocumented members of the Ignatian family. In January 2024, 32 college students gathered in Morristown, New Jersey, for ISNs 3rd annual Undocu Network Summit. Each of the attendees gathered had an immigration storyidentifying as undocumented, a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipient, or a member of a mixed-status family. The gathering provided attendeesall Catholic college and university students a safe place to build community, share concerns, seek advice, and grow their campus organizing skills. The network meets monthly throughout the year via Zoom to continue cultivating the relationships and collaboration developed during the January 2024 summit. On March 21, 2024, ISN was represented at the march and vigil for human dignity in El Paso, Texas. This event sought to bring attention to the disturbing attempts by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to shut down Annunciation House for allegedly unlawful activity. Annunciation House accompanies the migrant, refugee, and economically vulnerable peoples of the border region through hospitality, advocacy, and education.

OTHER PROGRAMMINGCONSISTENT ETHIC OF LIFE - In January 2024, ISN joined the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in hosting the Ignatian Family Mass for Life in Washington, D.C. The mass welcomed over 350 students, faculty, staff, and parishioners to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Church for prayer and reflection before the school and parish delegations took part in the annual March for Life through the streets of Washington, D.C. IGNATIAN ADVOCACY MADNESSOver seven weeks in March and April 2024, 13 Jesuit schools and 1 Jesuit province office participated in Ignatian Advocacy Madness, a fun and impactful competition aligned with the concurrent March Madness basketball tournaments. Approximately 12,000 people engaged in point-earning activities, promoting justice as the true champion. The activities fell into general categories of an education event, a prayer event, a legislative meeting, or a legislative phone/letter drive. On July 12, 2023, hundreds of parishioners joined Fr. Joseph Cheah, OSM. Ph.D. for his presentation, Beyond the Forever Foreigner: Unpacking Anti-Asian American Racism. Fr. Cheah is a Professor at the University of Saint Joseph in Hartford, CT, and authored Anti-Asian Racism: Myths, Stereotypes, and Catholic Social Teaching. His presentation examined how Black and Asian Americans are racialized differently, how systemic racism operates within these two groups, and how perpetual foreigner and model minority stereotypes operate in the lives of Asian Americans. On July 12, 2023, hundreds of parishioners joined Fr. Joseph Cheah, OSM. Ph.D. for his presentation, Beyond the Forever Foreigner: Unpacking Anti-Asian American Racism. Fr. Cheah is a Professor at the University of Saint Joseph in Hartford, CT, and authored Anti-Asian Racism: Myths, Stereotypes, and Catholic Social Teaching. His presentation examined how Black and Asian Americans are racialized differently, how systemic racism operates within these two groups, and how perpetual foreigner and model minority stereotypes operate in the lives of Asian Americans.