Over the weekend of Nov. 3 to 5, a group of Le Moyne students were at the
21st Annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington D.C. along with nearly 2,000 other individuals. Each year, the gathering connects Catholic faith and justice, addressing timely issues through two days of dynamic speakers, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Known as the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the U.S., the Teach-In attracts attendees from over 135 Jesuit and other Catholic universities, high schools, and parishes in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico, Spain, and El Salvador.
The 2018 theme, Discipleship at the Crossroads: The Courage to Journey Together as an Intersectional Community, invited participants to journey to the intersections of today’s most pressing and timely justice issues. Inspired by Pope Francis’s call to “try to listen and be silent in order to make space for the beauty of God,” attendees will be encouraged to “get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas” remembering that “the world is crisscrossed by roads that come together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.”
This morning attendees are gathering at Columbus Circle in Washington, D.C., for a public witness to pray, listen to active advocates, and recommit to work for justice. The Teach-In culminates with what is estimated to be the largest Catholic advocacy day of the year. More than 1,500 individuals will proceed to legislative advocacy meetings with members of Congress and their staffs on Capitol Hill. Le Moyne students will be meeting in the offices of Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman John Katko to urge them to enact immigration and criminal justice reform.