This Week in the World: On a Bus Tour to Support an Inclusive Democracy

This week, FCNL's Amelia Kegan joined "Nuns on the Bus and Friends " bus tour to mobilize people around the nation to vote for our future and support an inclusive democracy.

The nonpartisan voter education tour was organized by NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice. "We need everyone, building community, to help build this vision of the country where every person is free to fulfill their potential and truly flourish," Amelia said.

Throughout the week, the group made stops across Arizona, Nevada, and California, engaging with community members, media, and organizers. On Oct. 13, the group arrived in Nogales, Arizona, where they toured the U.S. Mexico border with the Kino Border Initiative.

"Our pilgrimage lasted only a few hours, yet we wondered about the pilgrimages of those seeking asylum in this country, a journey that could take days, weeks, or months," Sr. Janet Kinney, CSJ wrote.

Photos by Jacob Schatz, CCR Studios

Following the tour, the group held a press conference with local media. They called on attendees and officials to support pathways to citizenship, protect the rights of asylum seekers, and "resist measures that are antithetical to the values and freedoms we hold sacred."

Later that day, the group arrived in Pheonix. They met with Contreras Alas, a young Latina organizer with Corazon Arizona, a multi-racial, multi-faith, and multigenerational organization working for justice.

From there, the bus rolled on to Nevada, where the group held a community town hall event in Las Vegas. They also visited Three Square, an organization working to eliminate hunger and food insecurity.

The final stops of the journey in California included visits to the National Chavez Center and the St. Francis Center, a group dedicated to supporting families and building community and belonging.

"On the bus tour, it was simply impossible not to feel hopeful," Sarah Christopherson wrote. "Everywhere we went, people were doing incredible work to make their communities better, to stand up for each other, to take care of each other, and to keep up the excitement and the energy around voting."

Escalation in the Middle East Must Stop

This week, Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas and the mastermind of the October 7 attack. Vice President Kamala Harris and other leaders suggested his death could be an opening to end the war. But meanwhile, violence continues to mount.

The U.S. military bombed Houthi targets in Yemen this week. U.S. forces are being deployed to Israel as it prepares to attack Iran. At the same time, people in Northern Gaza are facing relentless violence and hunger as Israel has cut off nearly all aid.

The United States is deeply complicit in this escalating war and suffering. The Biden administration warned Israel that U.S. military support could be cut off if the humanitarian situation isn't improved in 30 days. But people in Gaza don't have that long to wait. Our government needs to stop sending weapons to Israel now and use all U.S. leverage to secure a permanent ceasefire.

This is why we are focusing our efforts at Quaker Public Policy Institute (Nov. 13-14) on telling Congress: No New Weapons to Israel!

A Somber Anniversary

October 16 marked 22 years since the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq was passed. Since then, this AUMF has been misused by later presidents for completely unrelated military actions. While repealing this AUMF is up to Congress, FCNL's Devra Baxter points out that President Joe Biden can terminate its authority and act, like he promised, to end forever wars.

Upcoming FCNL Events

• Join us on Monday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. for Collective Liberation with Salt of the Earth. Palestinian and Israeli peace activists will share their personal stories of the reality on the ground and their vision of a path toward collective safety and liberation.
• We are working with other Quaker organizations to publicize opportunities to worship and reflect on queries related to this election season. Find all the details at fcnl.org/electionworship.

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