Welcome to Thursday. Students, faculty and staff at Catholic colleges and universities are banding together to demand change in policing on campus. President-elect Joe Biden's selection to head the Department of Health and Human Services, praised by the Catholic Health Association, has been criticized by some pro-life leaders. And Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister hopes we can learn some wisdom from the desert monastics.
This past summer, millions of people across the country joined protests against racism and police violence, leading some to say that Black Lives Matter was perhaps the largest social movement in U.S. history.
At Catholic colleges across the U.S., students, faculty and staff have also called for their institutions to confront racism, by cutting ties with local police departments and reforming or divesting from their campus security forces.
At Loyola University Chicago, students have been fighting for the school to cut ties with the Chicago Police Department and implement a list of reforms recommended by the university's Black Cultural Center. At Villanova University in Pennsylvania, students, faculty and staff banded together to form the Villanova Antiracist Alliance, which calls for campus police to set aside weapons and police cars while patrolling campus. And at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, the mother of a student who died in the presence of campus safety officers has staged a hunger strike since July to demand campus police reform and transparency.
At each institution, organizers argued that for many Black students, faculty and staff, as well as other people of color, campus policing does not always equate to safety. Black students, they said, often experience harassment and suspicion from their own campus cops.
You can read more of the story here.
More background:
President-elect Joe Biden's selection of Xavier Becerra to head the Department of Health and Human Services is being praised by the Catholic Health Association as a new opportunity for partnership in expanding access to health care, despite resistance from conservative Catholics warning that his appointment will pose threats to the conscience rights of religious believers.
In a statement, the Catholic Health Association said that Becerra "has been a strong partner with CHA in defending the Affordable Care Act and for advocating for greater access to quality, affordable health care coverage for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable."
As a son of Mexican immigrants, Becerra has been an outspoken proponent of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which protects qualifying young adult immigrants from deportation. If confirmed, he will become the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Despite the CHA's backing, some pro-life leaders have claimed that Becerra, a Catholic, has sought to hamper pro-life efforts and are calling on the Senate to reject his confirmation.
You can read more the story here.
More headlines
- The world runs on the two dimensions of facts and wisdom, says NCR columnist Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister. Wisdom has been tried and tested through time, and it might be refreshing to see what the desert monastics, a veritable treasure house of wisdom literature, might teach us in the aftermath of political upheaval in our country.
- Today's EarthBeat Advent reflection talks about living simply, starting with a less-stuffed suitcase.
Final thoughts
Every Tuesday and Thursday, we post a new Francis comic strip. Throughout the week, we also post stories about Pope Francis' speeches, letters and audiences. You can sign up to receive The Francis Chronicles, a twice-weekly email with the latest Francis news, here.
Until Friday,
Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Production/Online Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @ncrSLY
