Thursday, March 13, 2025
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT
Location: Online Via Livestream
The Trump administration’s efforts to halt funding and dismantle the United States’ capacity to provide food for the hungry, health care for the sick, and hope for the poorest people on earth are destroying the lives and dignity of millions of our sisters and brothers around the world. Much of the debate on these reckless actions has focused on who did this, how it was done, and the political dimensions of these actions.
This online Initiative dialogue takes a very different approach. It focuses on the human consequences and moral implications of this abandonment of our nation’s traditional commitment to the poor around the world. We will look at these actions through the experience and expertise of Catholic sisters serving the poor around the globe and the work of Catholic Relief Services, which offers life-saving humanitarian assistance in almost 100 nations. We will hear directly from sisters and CRS leaders who feed the hungry, care for the sick, provide shelter to those without it, and meet the needs of those affected by conflict and disaster.
This timely dialogue will examine how to assess these unprecedented challenges in light of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching. It will explore through the eyes of those on the front lines what we should do to resist these destructive actions and how we can express solidarity with the poor and vulnerable around the world as well as with those who serve them.
Kimberly Mazyck, associate director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, will moderate the dialogue.
Recording
The dialogue starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT will be recorded and posted online for later viewing.
Participants
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Sr. Eneless Chimbali, SBVM
Sr. Eneless Chimbali, SBVM, is a member of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Blantyre, Malawi and a senior program officer for the All Africa Conference: Sister to Sister. She serves on the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services.
Sr. Florence Muia, ASN
Sr. Florence Muia, ASN, is a member of the Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Nairobi and the founder of Upendo Village, a facility in Naivasha, Kenya, designed to support people living with HIV in low-income communities around Nairobi.
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Bill O'Keefe
Bill O’Keefe is the executive vice president for mission and mobilization at Catholic Relief Services, where he oversees CRS efforts to change U.S. foreign policy in ways that promote justice and reduce poverty overseas.
Sr. Dee Smith, M.M.
Sr. Dee Smith, M.M., is a Maryknoll sister and one of the founders of Proyecto Vida, an HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and treatment effort in Guatemala.
Accessibility
All accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by March 10. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.