Our Economy of Francesco Hub Gathering

We need you. 

The cry of the earth, the cry of the poor, the problems of the global economy — we need your most important work. 

That’s the invitation of the Economy of Francesco. 

We need your boldest leadership unleashed and connected to the people, institutions and centers of power that can make lasting change. 

We need your courage. 

Are you ready to take the leap? 

We gather tomorrow for our 2021 North American Hub meeting and we’ll spend the largest piece of our time together in small groups around these themes.

Money, Solidarity & Livable Future Investing

• Sr. Sarah Simmons was recently a lay young professional… then harder questions emerged about the Gospel, her call, and her life–including her economic life. Sarah witnesses to the possibilities we create when we open up vulnerable spaces inside our hearts, our lives, and with groups of others. 
  • “Accompanying towards life in abundance” -> Connecting to indigenous wisdom in Central America through Emilio Travieso SJ — and the Comparte Network (More on Felipe’s blog here, and in this 3-min video, and 30-min conversation)
  • Catholic asset owners — from religious orders to Catholic healthcare — have begun asking the question: What does bold action grounded in Catholic Social Teaching look like? Elizabeth Garlow translates our magisterial documents into 4 non-extractive finance principles.

Common Good Politics & Co-op Movement Building

• Where did the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, popular movements, Alinsky tradition organizing, Specialized Catholic Action come from? Nicholas Hayes from Boston College weaves together our Catholic history and a dream for the moment we’re living. (You can watch an 18-min video interview here.) (Watch 18-min video here.) What could we dream a popular movement towards an embodied Economy of Francesco might look like? 
  • Felipe Witchger has been dreaming about new co-op development funding, cohort support… and brokers to convert existing businesses to cooperatives. What would you throw into the mix? 

Integrating Ecology as a Frame around our Economy

• Decarbonize Your Investments –> Made Easy: How can Pope Francis’ invitation to support an integral ecology inform a first step with our retirement savings? James Regulinski from Carbon Collective guides us from the “Drawdown” climate solutions we need (i.e. circular economy) to a low-cost index fund that removes the 4 largest carbon polluting sectors of the economy (oil & gas, chemicals) and replaces it with a “Climate Index”. It’s a step each of us with retirement savings can take right now.
  • Solidarity Economy Middleware: Can mutualism and reciprocity thrive in our economic enterprises? Where are the new transformative projects that are taking our hope to scale? Elias Crim from Ownership Matters newsletter reports on the exciting work they see emerging.
  • Sustainable Cities: How can we integrate Catholic principles of care for creation and preferential option for those most marginalized to build thriving communities? South Bend’s Director of Sustainability, Evie Bauman offers a genuine  look at what it’s like to coordinate, lead and catalyze.
  •  Laudato Si Action Platform — launching next month with more than 4,000! Let’s enroll ourselves, our parishes, our organizations. Take a moment to learn about it here and specific actions here. 

You can RSVP to join us here.

You can read more about our work at the Francesco Collaborative in our Upcoming events document here.

Might you want to enroll?

One of our main hopes for our gathering is to invite folks to get better acquainted with and pledge their participation in the to the Laudato Si Action Platform.

Fill out the form to learn more from the central coordinating committee. We’re supporting some of their work around ecological economics behind the scenes and hope to continue to gather over this upcoming 7-year journey — and especially this upcoming couple years as we learn better as a Catholic church the processes of synodality — walking together — participation, communion and mission.

Where is your place in the Economy of Francesco?

A common question is — what is the Economy of Francesco?

It’s a movement of the people just like you and me seeking to bring a soul to the economy of tomorrow.

Here’s my articulation and mapping of those who I think are already involved — whether they understand themselves in the tradition of St. Francis — and accepting the invitation of Poe Francis.

This 3 minute video gives you a tour of how I think about it, and how I’ve found a place in the ecosystem.

Pope Francis’ May 2019 invitation:

The Economy of Francesco is an process to  “bring us together and allow us to meet one another and eventually enter into a “covenant” to change today’s economy and to give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.” 

~Pope Francis