This newsletter is going out to our supporters globally. While the upcoming election of a new president is technically only an American issue, we realize that this election is about preserving democracy and truly impacts the entire world. So if you are a U.S. citizen, we ask you to click on the Scorecard link as you weigh the issues of importance to you in this election. If you are from another country, we ask your prayers for the outcome of this election. And if you have family or friends from the United States, we invite you to share this newsletter with all of them.

Who are Pope Francis Voters?

Faith does not fit neatly into the secular institution of political parties. And still, we are called to be engaged in politics. This is no small feat. As Pope Francis says, "Following Jesus means swimming against the tide, renouncing evil and selfishness." Our nation is in a spiritual crisis, and our faith and patriotism compel us to speak clearly and to act according to our consciences and our personal values.

Catholics are called to defend, promote, and protect the sacredness of human life. We cannot be single issue voters. Instead, we are called to be Pope Francis Voters. The sacred issues that Pope asks us to bring into the voting booth include protecting people in poverty, the elderly, and migrants and rejecting racism. Prayerful consideration of the candidates for President make it clear: Catholics are called to be true to their faith and recognize that there are multiple issues to consider when casting our vote.

Equally Sacred scorecard

Since Pope Francis has recently issued his Papal Exhortation sharing his personal dreams for the world, we envision this as an invitation for the people to share our hopes and dreams for the future of our world. You are invited to take this survey which is now in five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. The objective is to listen to the voices of all people who identify with the principles of Christianity - love God and love your neighbor. It doesn't matter whether you are active or not, or even baptized or not. We want to hear your vision for the social, cultural, ecological, and spiritual realities touching you in the world. We anticipate the results of the survey will represent the people in all our diversity, across religious, cultural, and political perspectives. The outcome will be a compendium of the reflections of the people - what we will call a Peoples Exhortation - that reflects our relationships with one another, with the Divine, and with all creation.

Inviting thinking Catholics and Christians to dialogue

These events will be held online Saturdays: August 8, 15, 22 and 29

A message from the American Catholic Council:

After decades of research and communication with some in the hierarchy of our Church and trusted People of God, it's become obvious that as we are "victims" of our global culture and context swirling to remake itself and us. In many cases, it is succeeding---on both fronts. We ask the burning question: Where is our faith in such times? Do we choose to remain impotent as the culture re-forms us or do we choose the converse?

Clearly, we have chosen the latter. We are engaging in an experiment to test the hypothesis that Christians are ready now, willing now, and able now to live the common values of our faith intentionally with the same courage Jesus had. We developed the Peoples Synod to give voice to the People of God, just as synods provide the hierarchy with dialogue on issues that internally concern the institutional Church. We, however, live in a bigger world, an external reality, often beaten to submission by a secular hierarchy that tells us what to think, who to believe, and what to do about it.

We are challenging Christians to think, to be creative, to see new frontiers that match our reality. We already share a common perspective that all lives matter and relationships, primary deep relationships, are the cornerstone of our faith. After all, Scripture is all about relationships, the good, the bad and the ugly, and stories are there to teach us about lives with purpose and those, without.

Come join us for four consecutive Saturdays in August (beginning August 8) for either the morning or afternoon session that will stimulate us to think bigger, to see the potential we have and to create the possibilities we long for. We live in a context of cynicism that keeps many of us mute to speak out on the problems of the day. What would our world be like with thinking Catholics and Christians? Now, there is a dangerous thought to explore.

Since Pope Francis has recently issued his Papal Exhortation sharing his personal dreams for the world, we envision this as an invitation for the people to share our hopes and dreams for the future of our world. You are invited to take this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2XFGJ96. The objective is to listen to the voices of all people who identify with the principles of Christianity - love God and love your neighbor. It doesn't matter whether you are active or not, or even baptized or not. We want to hear your vision for the social, cultural, ecological, and spiritual realities touching you in the world. We anticipate the results of the survey will represent the people in all our diversity, across religious, cultural, and political perspectives. The outcome will be a compendium of the reflections of the people - what we will call a Peoples Exhortation - that reflects our relationships with one another, with the Divine, and with all creation.

TO:

TO: All people who identify with Chistianity, whether you are practicing or not, whether you are even baptized or not, who wish to have your voices heard and your experiences shared during Covid-19. What are you being invited to do? Pope Francis shared his dreams for the future of the world in his most recent papal exhortation. Is that a top-down view from a traditional Roman Catholic Church? Or, now that Francis has shared his dreams, is it an invitation for the people to share our dreams for the kind of world we want to see ... for our children and grandchildren? Is this an opportunity for the Spirit to lead from the bottom up? Is this even possible, given how diverse we are as a people? First, let us share the background.