From November 6-8, six students and two staff joined over 1,200 high school and college students, gathering for the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C.
Initiated in 1997, the Teach-In commences yearly to commemorate the lives of the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador. The six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her teenage daughter were murdered on November 16, 1989, for speaking out against the country’s tumultuous civil war. Through work with the poor and marginalized, the Catholic Church and its leaders, including the Jesuits and now-Saint Óscar Romero, sought to address the long history of inequality and injustice in the country.
Each year, the Teach-In connects the 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 gathering this year attracts attendees from nearly 100 Jesuit and other Catholic universities, high schools, parishes, and organizations in the U.S. and El Salvador.
Carondelet students heard from speakers who examined issues including racial justice, immigration, and environmental justice through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching. Students returned with new perspectives and tools as they advocate for important causes.
The 2021 theme, Imagining a Path Forward: Reflection. Reckoning. Kinship, invites attendees to “imagine together a path forward that better reflects the values of God’s Kingdom. A path not confined by the way things have always been and which exclaims the common good as central to all that we do, promoting the flourishing of all people.”