Year: 2020

Episode 4: Help Our System of Justice Work Best

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This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center which later became the National Immigrant Justice Center (www.immigrantjustice.org), and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He responds to the federal government’s proposed regulations that would limit the discretion of Immigration Judges and change the procedure for appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals.  These proposed rules will hinder the ability of individuals to pursue cases without lawyers and increase the difficulty of pro bono representation by volunteer lawyers.   Cumulatively, if implemented, they will harm our communities and undermine our system of justice.  We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule.  To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following:

Our colleagues at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. have provided sample comments and a link to file comments at:  https://cliniclegal.org/resources/federal-administrative-advocacy/clinic-template-comment-eoir-proposed-rule

You may also find the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s template at:

https://www.aila.org/takeaction#/88

Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations restrict access to the courts and prevent bona fide applicants from litigating and their cases.  To be accepted by the government, please ensure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 25, 2020.

The critical point remains that you choose at least one element of the proposed rules that you believe is incompatible with our nation’s commitment to fair process to achieve justice and make your voice heard.

Justice Ginsburg’s law review article, “In Pursuit of the Public Good: Access to Justice in the United States,” 7 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 1, 8 (2001) can be found at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1534&context=law_journal_law_policy

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case can be found at page 8 of Meza Morales v. Barr, 2020 WL 5268986, (7th Cir.).

The TRAC Immigration report from Syracuse University on “The Life and Death of Administrative Closure” can be found at:  https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/623/ (September 10, 2020).

Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends.  Encourage them to file comments to help ensure that our nation continues its commitment to a fair process and access to justice.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Seeds of the Mission: Jenan Mohajir

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Respect, Dignity and Interfaith Dialogue   

Vincent DePaul lived at a time when religious tension and conflict was a regular feature of life, both within Christianity and between Christians and people of other faiths.  The spirituality Saint Vincent embraced, while enthusiastically faithful to the Catholic church, was one which emphasized humility, gentleness and pragmatic service to the poor over contentious debate.  The spirituality of the order Vincent founded, the Congregation of the Mission, has created a living tradition which is rooted in its history but is always looking to respond to the real needs of the marginalized in each new time and place, continuously asking the question, “What must be done?” 

It is this Vincentian spirit which led DePaul to be the first Catholic university chartered in Illinois to specify in its charter that there would be no religious test or requirement for admission or for hiring.  That is, from its beginning DePaul University has believed that welcoming students, faculty, and staff of all faiths or none to the opportunities of higher education and to form a community together was to be faithful to its Vincentian Catholic commitment to honoring the dignity of every human person. 

DePaul continues this commitment to the dignity and spiritual care and growth of all members of the community with Mission & Ministry staff members who are Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and of no faith tradition.  DePaul fosters interfaith dialogue on campus through the framework of the Four Forms of Interreligious Dialogue outlined by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.  This framework emphasizes that we live in a community which is consistently marked by people with a wide diversity of faiths and worldviews who are interacting, cooperating and working together for a better world.  These forms include the dialogues of service, religious experience, and of life itself in addition to the narrow category which we often think of as “interfaith dialogue,” the dialogue of theological exchange. 

It is with this history and this understanding that we, as a community made up of people of many different faiths and of none, that we embrace our continuing commitment to the Vincentian Catholic Mission of DePaul University and seek to respond to the continuing human challenges of a world that stands in need of so much.   

Sustained by Deep Roots: Celebrating our Heritage

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“Nature makes trees put down deep roots before having them bear fruit, and even this is done gradually.”1

Over the next seven days we celebrate Vincent de Paul Heritage Week. This includes a series of events leading up to Vincent’s church-designated feast day on September 27th. These events are meant to invite the university community into a deeper reflection on our shared mission and heritage, which traces all the way back to seventeenth-century France.

When facing urgent and troubling challenges such as those of our present reality, you may ask why spend our time and energy remembering historical roots going back over 400 years? How do the words and actions of those who have preceded us and lived in such different contexts so long ago speak to us now? How can this focus on history help us to discern a meaningful and relevant mission for today?

Ultimately, whenever we reflect on our sense of mission, whether personal or institutional, we are asking: what is essential to who we are? Thinking about such profound questions may spark a religious, spiritual, or philosophical impulse in us, including a consideration of our origin stories. From where do we come and why were we created? Is there a purpose to our existence? If so, who are we called to be and what are we called to do? Storytelling traditions surrounding the origins of communities of people have been common since the dawn of humanity. These stories often help us to hold and communicate values, meaning, purpose, and a sense of connectedness with one other, as well as to engage present-day circumstances with a deeply formed sense of identity.

We have a storytelling tradition at DePaul University. It is passed on within the history of the Congregation of the Mission and all those in the Vincentian family who live and sustain our shared, foundational mission rooted in the lives of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. Over his many years at DePaul, Vincentian historian, Fr. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., often reminded us that in order for the lessons of history to be meaningfully re-contextualized for today, we must first understand the historical background from which these gifts emerged.

In other words, our efforts today to be rooted in and clarify our common mission as an institution comes with a two-fold responsibility. First, we must continually seek to better understand the historical roots and foundational stories of the Vincentian family, which ultimately gave birth to DePaul University. Second, we must seek to faithfully discern how those roots can be extended creatively and effectively to sustain our lives and work today. This is so even considering that the current challenges and opportunities we face could never have been imagined by Vincent de Paul hundreds of years ago.

The roots that have sustained our Vincentian tradition over time are characterized by a generous and caring spirit, essential to both historical and modern-day Vincentian communities, religious and lay. It is a spirit that focuses its efforts and attention on the service of those in society who are most in need. It asks critical questions about who is being left out or marginalized and seeks to affirm their dignity. It is a spirit that works to change social, economic, and political systems for the better.

When we reflect upon our Vincentian heritage this week, we do so with great humility, a virtue many recognized in Vincent de Paul. We do so with a willingness to acknowledge how far we still must go to live up to the deep, time-tested ideals that urge us forward. We take heart in knowing we are not alone on this journey. In fact, we join the decades and centuries old caravan of those who have also taken the Vincentian spirit to heart and sought to improve the lives of others.

To be Vincentian is to ask, as Madame de Gondi did of Vincent de Paul, “What Must be Done?” It is to get up day-after-day and continue our mission by taking concrete action. In times like these that challenge society and our institution, we are indeed fortunate for the deep roots of our mission.

Reflection Question:

How do the deep roots of our Vincentian mission and story inform your approach to today’s challenges?

1 1796, To Charles Ozenne, Superior, In Warsaw, Paris, 13 November 1654, CCD, 5:219.

 

Reflection by Mark Laboe, Associate VP for Mission and Ministry

 

See all the Vincent de Paul Heritage Week Events

Vincent de Paul Heritage Week

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Vinny Fest 2020 Kick-Off Video
Monday, September 21 | 10 am
View on Instagram & Facebook @mmatmdepaul

To keep everyone safe and healthy this year, Vinny Fest is going virtual! A DePaul tradition to honor and celebrate Vincent de Paul’s legacy, Vinny Fest 2020 will feature 20+ DePaul partner events throughout St. Vincent de Paul Heritage Week. Watch our video on Monday morning to learn how to participate in all the fun! 

Faculty & Staff ‘Lunch with Vincent’
Tuesday, September 22 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Faculty and Staff register here: https://conta.cc/32xRv6P

The focus of DePaul’s 2020-21 Lunch with Vincent program for faculty and staff will be the Vincentian mission, diversity and anti-racism. President A. Gabriel Esteban and Cynthia Pickett, DePaul’s associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion, are the event’s featured speakers.

Vinterfaith: Perspectives on the Vincentian Mission
Tuesday, September 22 | 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube @depaulmissionandministry

St. Vincent is a Catholic Christian saint who lived in 17th century France.  What does it mean for people of diverse backgrounds and worldviews, including many who are not Catholic to identify themselves as “Vincentian”?  Hear short perspectives from our interfaith scholars and staff members on how they engage with Vincentian heritage and identify role models in their own traditions who live(d) out similar values and ideals. 

Cafecito con Tepeyac
Wednesday, September 23 | 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Join us on Zoom: https://depaul.zoom.us/j/98791822188

DePaul’s Latinx student group will host a special ‘Cafecito con Tepeyac’ with Meet Me at The Mission as we explore our Vincentian cultura together! All students welcome!

St. Vincent de Paul Feast Day Prayer Breakfast
Friday, September 25 | 9:00 – 10:00 am
Register for Zoom Event: https://conta.cc/35DiIXB

The St. Vincent de Paul Feast Day Prayer Breakfast invites us to join together with DePaul colleagues, students, and friends to pause and reflect on St. Vincent, the namesake of our university and his rich legacy as it is lived out today.  Bring a cup of coffee and your favorite breakfast nibbles and come listen to Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, CM (Fr. Memo) as we contemplate where we have been and where we are going as a “community, gathered together for the sake of a mission.” 

Vincentian Family Celebration
Sunday, September 27 | 2:00 – 2:45 pm
Livestream on YouTube @GenVerdeOfficial

A virtual celebration in collaboration with Vincentian universities across the globe. The event is an online concert where a new song about St. Vincent will be unveiled.

Feast Day Mass
Sunday, September 27 | 8:00 pm
St. Vincent de Paul Parish (in-person)
1010 W. Webster Ave.
Livestream on Facebook @depaulccm

A special liturgy will be celebrated in honor of the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul. Mass will be held in-person and livestreamed. Vice President of Mission & Ministry, Fr. Memo Campuzano, CM, will preside.

Rosh Hashanah – Reflection at the Start of a New Year

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This coming Friday evening at sundown marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year) starts the New Year in the Jewish calendar. During this holiday and the days leading up to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Jews are encouraged to reflect on the year past. We take stock of ourselves and take time to examine our own faults and shortcomings.

A Jewish custom coincides with this self-reflective spiritual exercise. Tashlich (“casting off”) is the practice of symbolically getting rid of one’s sins. During Tashlich, Jews are asked to walk to a large flowing water source (a creek, river, or large lake) and empty their pockets, to figuratively cast off our sins. Small breadcrumbs or bird seed is commonly placed in the pockets to be thrown. This practice is not mentioned in the Torah but has become a long-standing custom in Judaism.

As we move into this new academic year, this ritual of letting go and moving forward holds special significance. In beginning autumn, and facing the next stage of our COVID journey together, how can we take stock of where we have been and where we are going? What are some positive things you are looking forward to with this new season and academic year? What are some things you might be ready to “cast off” and leave behind? Do you have your own way of “cleansing” or “renewing” yourself to begin again?

Reflection by:  Matthew Charnay, Jewish Life Coordinator, Division of Mission and Ministry

 

Jewish High Holiday Services – DePaul University

All students, staff, and faculty of the DePaul community are invited free-of-charge to attend our fun, engaging and fully virtual High Holiday Services. For more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/Depaulhighholidays2020

Seeds of the Mission: Tyneka Harris Coronado

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Vincentian Personalism 

Coined at DePaul in the 1970s, the term Vincentian Personalism refers to the Vincentian family’s dedication to human dignity and holistic care. St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac approached their work with a person-first lens. They saw each person they encountered, whether rich or poor, as God’s beloved creation. This was evident in their commitment to care for both the physical and spiritual needs of those on the margins.  

Vie Thorgren, a Vincentian leader in Denver, Colorado, says, “There is no such thing in the Vincentian family as someone who does not belong.” To Vincent and Louise, nobody was invisible. They recognized the worth and gifts in each person they encountered and sought to create a sense of belonging for those who were often forgotten or excluded from the narrative.  

In this sense, we strive to foster a sense of belonging at DePaul. We hope that every student, staff, and faculty member who is part of the DePaul community feels seen for their whole personhood. A DePaul education goes beyond intellectual development and seeks to cultivate holistic growth. We hope that each student who graduates from DePaul understands their larger sense of purpose in the world beyond their resume, degree, or job title. We are spiritual as well as academic, personal as well as professional. 

Servant Leadership 

In 1977, Robert K. Greenleaf wrote, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness.(1) This book invited readers to turn their understanding of leadership on its head and imagine an effective leader as someone who approaches their work with humility and selflessness rather than emphasizing power. Greenleaf’s research articulated foundational qualities of leadership similar to those with which Vincent approached his work. Some of these qualities include the following questions: 

  • Do those served grow as persons?  
  • Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  
  • What is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit, or, at least, not be further deprived?(2) 

Servant leadership is rooted in active listening. For the Vincentian family, this means building relationships with a community, hearing their stories, and understanding their needs before taking action. As Vincentians, we do not seek to “fix” but rather to be in solidarity. This requires asking the questions, “What do you need? How can I be of service?” before taking action. It is a way of rejecting the false sense of savior-ism and seeking instead mutual, meaningful relationships. 

In the article, “Servant Leadership in the Manner of St. Vincent de Paul,” J. Patrick Murphy, C.M., writes, “Vincent came to servant leadership through prayer and scripture. He was inspired, for instance, by the passage from Luke: ‘Earthly kings lord it over their people. Those who exercise authority over them are called their benefactors. Yet it cannot be that way with you. Let the greater among you be as the junior, the leader as servant.’”(3) 

Servant Leadership seeks to dismantle inequitable power structures and place people on even ground. Murphy goes on to write, “Vincent turned the church upside down (we truly can think of it as an inverted pyramid) to put the poor on top with the rest of (society) in service and support.”(4) We see this lived out in the structure of the Daughters of Charity. Instead of being called Superior Generals, as many leaders are called in Catholic faith communities, the Daughters refer to their community leaders as Sister Servants.  

Servant Leadership is inseparable from Vincentian Personalism; both are bound up in the way Vincentians see and treat people. A Vincentian leader is concerned not with authority but with the well–being and dignity of those in their care. 

——————————————————————— 

1) Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness (New York: Paulist Press, 1977), 335 pp. 

2) J. Patrick Murphy, C.M., “Servant Leadership in the Manner of Saint Vincent de Paul,” Vincentian Heritage 19:1 (1998), p. 122. See: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol19/iss1/7/  

3) Ibid., 123. 

4) Ibid., 124. 

Seeds of the Mission, an Introduction

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On behalf of the Division of Mission and Ministry and DePaul University we are excited to share the Seeds of the Mission Campaign stories. We are grateful to the students, faculty, staff and alumni who have graciously taken the time to share their mission-in-action stories. Gathering Seeds of the Mission stories is the first step to reviewing and possibly revising the University mission statement. Listening to and amplifying Seeds of the Mission stories helps us to understand who we have been, and who we are now, so that we may transform into who we are called to be in the twenty-first century. We invite you to watch these stories and to continue to reflect upon the living mission at DePaul. As a next step, this Fall we will be conducting dialogues to move towards the reviewing and possible revising of the University mission statement. 

Review of The Mission Statement

The Division of Mission and Ministry has been charged with leading the process of gathering the necessary information, data and input from the university community to assist the Board of Trustees with this process.

A multi-step process is been implemented during this academic year, involving:

  1. A review of the history of DePaul’s mission statement and other related documents that describe the self-understanding of DePaul’s sense of purpose and vision and how it has evolved over the course of its history.
  2. The Seeds of the Mission Campaign will seek to identify current-day examples of DePaul’s mission-in-practice across the university.
  3. A series of dialogue sessions with a wide and diverse range of the DePaul community of faculty, staff, students and alumni to invite their qualitative input on what is essential to DePaul’s mission.
  4. Board of Trustees Survey

The information, data, and input from these 3 steps will be synthesized and presented to the Board of Trustees Mission Committee in the Winter of 2021 for consideration. This committee will then be responsible for presenting their findings and recommendations to the full Board of Trustees by the spring of 2021.

Celebrating the Vincentian Legacy of Frédéric Ozanam

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Each year on September 9th, the worldwide Vincentian family celebrates the Feast Day of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813-1853), the nineteenth-century French, lay Catholic leader, widely considered the founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The Society is now an international confederation present in 150 countries with over 800,000 members in 47,000 Conferences and 1.5 million volunteers and collaborators. It serves the needs of over 30 million people all over the world.

Ozanam was a French literary scholar, lawyer, journalist, and equal rights advocate in Paris. He was recognized as a skilled writer, orator, thinker, social activist, and model of faith oriented toward outward action. Following the practices of Saint Vincent de Paul and inspired by his faith, Ozanam served the poor and destitute of Paris. He especially saw the power of bringing students together to study Vincentian principles and engage with those who were marginalized and poor.

While a student of law and literature in Paris, he founded the Society in 1833 with a group of friends who gathered regularly to grow in their faith and visit the poor. With the help of the older Emmanuel Bailly, who brought his own experience of socially engaged Catholicism, they provided vouchers for bread and wood to those in need. Inspired by the gospel message of love, they provided instruction and gave of their time and presence to serve the disadvantaged.

Later, as a professor at the prestigious Sorbonne, Ozanam became a renowned scholar and intellectual. He dedicated his life to understanding what Catholicism offered civilization. Committed to the principles of democracy and social justice, he became a journalist at L’Ère Nouvelle (The New Era), advocating for social reform and a governmental regime of liberty, equality, and fraternity that included the less fortunate. Frédéric was also devoted to his wife, Amélie, and their daughter Marie, whom he loved dearly. His integration of his professional life with his personal and spiritual life, along with his simple yet open style of engagement offers us a model of servant leadership today. Frédéric Ozanam was beatified by Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day in 1997.

 

In the summer of 2020, DePaul University renamed one of its residence halls in his honor.

To learn more about Frédéric’s legacy and his contributions to understanding our shared Vincentian mission, explore some of the following Vincentian Heritage resources:

Blog Reflections:

Podcasts:

Articles featured in the Vincentian Heritage Journal:

 

 

Lawful Assembly Episode 3: Repair the Breach: Help All in Your Community Be Counted in the 2020 Census

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This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy.  He discusses how the Census, by counting all those residing in the United States every ten years, if done well, helps the nation repair past breaches to our body politic.  In the wake of a pandemic, civic unrest and the long road to healing our nation from the consequences of slavery and racism, the Census offers an opportunity for all of “We the People” to be counted and leading to a fairer representation.  The government will stop counting residents in this Census on September 30, 2020, thus necessitating that we all use our resources to ensure a fair count.  You can go to www.census.gov  for information on how to encourage greater participation.  If you would like to participate in a phone bank sponsored by the Urban League of Chicago on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 to encourage participation in the City of Chicago, you can volunteer by emailing kbutler@chiul.org (Kareem Butler, Director of Learning and Evaluation, Chicago Urban League).  The quotation from Professor Akhill Reed Amar can be found in American’s Constitution, A Biography,” (Random House, N.Y., 2005), 87.  For a description of rotten districts / rotten boroughs  see P.84.

Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends.  Encourage them to assist all members of their communities to file their Census form to  generate a fair count of all.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

 

The Daughters in Tanzania: Working Toward Systemic Change

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“The Sisters are women who stand up for women’s and girls’ rights.” – Mary, 15-year-old graduate of the December Rescue Camp, Tanzania, East Africa.1

Last week we invited you to reflect on how charity should be an essential part of transformative action and the vital relational and affective dimension of justice. This week we’ll explore this theme through the example of an initiative of the Daughters of Charity in Tanzania focused on eradicating the practice of female genital mutilation. The Daughters’ unique approach combines ministering to those impacted by this practice, intently listening to their stories, and purposefully integrating their work with signs of the times to advance systemic change.

The Association for the Termination of Female Genital Mutilation (ATFGM) is an organization founded by The Daughters of Charity in Tanzania in 2008. It was created at the request of the local bishop, parents, and girls in the community seeking protection from this practice. The ATFGM runs a “December Rescue Camp” which affords a safe space for girls seeking to escape the practice. And, while such protection meets an immediate critical need, the focus of the camp is equally devoted to education and awareness. During the last decade, more than 2,500 girls have attended.

The Daughters also understand that in moving towards eradicating female genital mutilation, they must take into consideration multidimensional realities such as tradition, social stigma, and the economic implication for practitioners. Thus, beyond ministering directly to the girls, the Daughters work with parents, elders, schools, communities, and practitioners. They also target boys who will become future husbands and fathers. Additionally, they help former practitioners attend a government college to learn entrepreneurship skills, and eventually find work when they have graduated.

The work of the Daughters in Tanzania reminds us once again that the Vincentian approach to justice necessitates addressing immediate need while working toward broader systemic change.

As we think of the work of these Vincentian family members, what resonates with you about their approach? What challenges you? What can we learn from their approach that may inspire our work at DePaul today?

1) Meghan J. Clark, “Charity, Justice, and Development in Practice: A Case Study of the Daughters of Charity in East Africa,” Journal of Moral Theology 9:2 (2020), 11; at: https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/‌13334-charity-justice-and-development-in-practice-a-case-study-of-the-daughters-of-charity-in-east-africa

 

Reflection by: Siobhan O’Donoghue, Faculty and Staff Engagement Director, Mission & Ministry