Catholic Social Action
ASSOCIATION OF ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN PRIESTS RECORDS, 2010-, (5.8 feet and 409 MB unprocessed).
Records of an organization of ordained women from the United States and South America that is part of the global Roman Catholic Women Priests initiative, which seeks full equality for all within the (Roman) Catholic Church. Records include correspondence, subject files, personnel files, photographs, media releases, blogs, and DVDs. [Connect to ARCWP Inventory]
BLIED, BENJAMIN J., COLLECTION, 1903-1950, 0.2 foot.
Materials largely relating to Fr. Peter E. Dietz and his involvement in Catholic social action and the labor movement in the early twentieth century through groups such as the Militia of Christ for Social Service and the Social Service Commission of the American Federation of Catholic Societies, including brochures, form letters, pamphlets, and tracts. Also included is a photocopy of Fr. Blied's typescript monograph, "Saxony after Luther."
CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE RECORDS, 1926-1968, 7.0 feet.
Records of a membership organization (administered as an independent branch of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference) concerned with "educating all Catholics as to their obligations of justice and charity in the cause of international peace." Included are correspondence, minutes, publications, reports, speeches, and other records documenting the annual conferences and other activities of the Association's committees, subcommittees, officers, and secretariat.
[Connect to Catholic Association for International Peace Inventory]
CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS FOR RENEWAL RECORDS, 1991-, 0.9 foot.
Records of meetings of a leadership forum of U.S. Roman Catholic Church reform organizations, including correspondence, minutes, and reports.
[Connect to Catholic Organizations for Renewal Inventory]
CHIAPAS (MEXICO) AND CENTRAL AMERICA COLLECTION, 1980s-, bulk 1980s-2000s, 7.0 feet + 15.5 GB (unprocessed).
Photography and writings by independent photographer Richard G. Flamer regarding the poor, refuges, and the Catholic Worker Movement in Chiapas, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Subjects include Maya Indians, prominent leaders, landscapes, and the development of a Catholic Worker community center and farm in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.
[Connect to Chiapas and Central America Inventory]
COMMUNICATION MINISTRY, INC., RECORDS, 1976-2009, 0.7 foot.
Records of "a group of gay and lesbian clergy and religious organized to promote and nurture the integration of personal sexuality, spirituality and ministry" through dialogue on three levels: a newsletter, retreats and convocations, and outreach to the leadership of the Catholic Church. It dissolved in 2009 and was folded into New Ways Ministry. Included are minutes, publications, reports, and scattered correspondence. Board minutes, correspondence, and other administrative records are restricted.
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS RECORDS, 1980-1997, 2 cubic ft.
Records of the Conference for Catholic Lesbians, founded in 1983 as a non-profit social action organization.
CONSULTATION ON HOMOSEXUALITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGY RECORDS, 1981-1994, 1.0 foot.
Records of a research and educational organization formed to carry on the work of the San Francisco Archdiocesan Commission on Social Justice's Task Force on Gay/Lesbian Issues after it was disbanded following publication of its report in 1982. Included are writings and recordings of talks by its director, Kevin Gordon.
[Connect to Consultation on Homosexuality, Social Justice, and Roman Catholic Theology Records Inventory]
COUNCIL ON URBAN AND RURAL LIFE (MILWAUKEE) RECORDS, 1965-1984, 2.4 feet.
Records of an advocacy and research organization, funded by the United Way and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which served as the urban affairs office for the Archdiocese from its founding in 1966 until its dissolution at the end of 1983. Included are subject and project files, reports, and publications documenting the group's approach to community organizing and its stance on social issues, such as the lending practices of area financial institutions, and the conflicts this engendered.
[Connect to Council on Urban and Rural Life Inventory]
CULLEN, MICHAEL D., PAPERS, 1942, 1953-[ongoing], 5.0 feet.
Papers of a religious educator who co-founded Milwaukee's Casa Maria Catholic Worker House of Hospitality (1966) and destroyed draft records in the "Milwaukee Fourteen" anti-war action in 1968, for which he served 9 months in federal prison before being deported to Ireland. (He was readmitted to the United States in 1991.) Included are correspondence, legal records (including case files from the office of his attorney, James Shellow), manuscripts, photographs, press clippings, publications, and audiotape recordings, largely relating to Cullen's social ministry, anti-war activism, and imprisonment. Correspondents include Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Dorothy Day, James Groppi, and Albion Ross.
[Connect to Michael Cullen Inventory]
DAY, DOROTHY-CATHOLIC WORKER COLLECTION, 1933-[ongoing], 218.3 feet (48.0 unprocessed).
Records of a faith-based movement for peace and social justice through nonviolent direct action, founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in New York City in 1933 and represented today by more than 150 loosely affiliated "houses of hospitality" (including several in Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and New Zealand) in which the poor and homeless are welcomed as guests. The records document the efforts of Catholic Worker volunteers to "live out" the Gospel message, interpreted as pacifist, personalist, and profoundly radical. The collection includes the personal papers of Day, Maurin, and others involved in the movement; records of the New York City and other Catholic Worker communities; photographs; audio and video recordings of interviews, talks, television programs, and peace demonstrations; and a wide variety of publications.
[Connect to Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Inventory]
FALLS, ARTHUR G., REMINISCENCE, 1962, 0.5 foot.
Incomplete 800 + page typescript of a reminiscence spanning 1901-1943, dictated by an African American physician active in civil rights and Catholic social justice organizations, including the Chicago Urban League, Federated Colored Catholics, National Catholic Interracial Federation, the Catholic Worker movement, and the Congress of Racial Equality.
FORTUNATE FAMILIES RECORDS, 2000-2017, 0.9 foot. and 67.1 MB.
Governance, project, and publication files maintained by Casey and Mary Ellen Lopata to document "a resource and networking ministry with Catholic parents of LGBT+ daughters and sons" they founded in 2004. The Lopatas retired from the board of directors in 2014 and the organization restructured in 2018 under new leadership.
[Connect to Fortunate Families Inventory]
GROSS, FRANK, PAPERS, 1941-1949, 0.4 foot.
Correspondence and printed materials regarding Acción Católica or Catholic Action in Mexico, especially Unión Nacional Sinarquista or the National Synarchist Union.
[Connect to Frank Gross Inventory]
IN THE SPOTLIGHT DIGITAL IMAGE COLLECTION
A-Z Index: All Things Lincoln (Feb. 2009), Catholic Ladder Pictorial Catechisms (Jan. 2009), Celebrating Marquette's Presidents (Sept. 2011), Exploration & Discovery: Stamps (Dec. 2008), Holy Rosary Mission - Red Cloud Indian School 1000th Image (Mar. 2010), Marquette's Study Abroad Pioneer (May 2009), Mother Theresa: Discovering God in the Poorest of the Poor (Oct. 2009), New in the M Club Hall of Fame (Nov. 2011), Over Hill and Dale: Cross Country at Marquette (Sept. 2009), Presidential Campaign Visits (Oct. 2008), Television Girl: Hildegarde! (Mar. 2009), The Civil Defense Projects: Dorothy Day (Apr. 2009), Van Vechten's Portrait Archives: 250 Subjects and Growing (Nov.-Dec. 2009), World War I at Marquette (Nov. 2008), Zablocki: Wisconsin's Mr. Democrat (Jan.-Feb. 2010).
[Connect to In the Spotlight Collection]
JACK COOK PAPERS, 1957-2020, 1.7 feet
Papers of an author, Catholic Worker, and Vietnam War draft resister, best known for his prison memoir Rags of Time: A Season in Prison, including correspondence and writings. Correspondents include Richard Drinnon and Elizabeth McAlister; there are two letters from Dorothy Day.
[Connect to Jack Cook Inventory]
JUSTICE AND PEACE CENTER (MILWAUKEE) RECORDS, 1971-1983, 1.7 feet.
Records of an advocacy and research organization, founded by the Capuchins in 1971 and later supported by nine religious communities, including general administrative records, minutes of staff and board meetings, newsletters and other publications, and files on specific issues or programs, such as corporate responsibility, integration, legislative action, and welfare). The center closed in 1982.
[Connect to Justice and Peace Center Inventory]
KELLY, KATHY, PAPERS, 1977-[ongoing], 1.8 feet.
Correspondence, subject files, writings, and other records of a Chicago-based peace activist who cofounded Voices in the Wilderness/Voices for Creative Nonviolence in 1996, and has anchored its leadership team from the beginning. Kelly has spent much of her life promoting nonviolent initiatives for peace and justice in war zones, for which she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
[Connect to Kathy Kelly Inventory]
LERNOUX, PENNY, PAPERS, 1964-1989, 0.9 foot.
Papers of an author and journalist who reported on the Catholic Church in Latin America for The Nation, the National Catholic Reporter, and Newsweek, including correspondence concerning her articles and books.
[Connect to Penny Lernoux Inventory]
LIGUTTI, MSGR. LUIGI G., PAPERS, 1909-1985, 10.4 feet.
Papers of a longtime executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference and representative of the Vatican to the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, documenting his efforts to promote rural development and food supply throughout the world. Included are general correspondence and subject files, manuscripts, photographs, diaries, and tape-recorded recollections. Of note are files on the Granger Homesteads, a rural housing development initiated by Ligutti in 1933, and his investigation of the management of church property in Malta (1969-1971).
[Connect to Luigi Ligutti Inventory]
MADONNA CENTER (CHICAGO) RECORDS, 1865-1979, 4.6 feet.
Correspondence, reports, case files, and related records of a Catholic settlement house in an Italian neighborhood on the near southwest side of Chicago. Also included are personal papers of Mary Agnes Amberg, the head resident, and records of the Christ Child Society of Chicago, with which Madonna Center was closely associated.
[Connect to Madonna Center Inventory]
McGARRY, ANNA, PAPERS, 1937-1991, 1.0 foot.
Papers of a pioneer in the movement for interracial justice, documenting her service on the staffs of Philadelphia's Fair Employment Practice's Commission and its successor agency, the Commission on Human Relations, and her leadership of the Catholic Interracial Council of Philadelphia. Included are clippings, correspondence, memoranda, publications, reports, and tape recordings of talks and an oral history interview.
[Connect to Anna McGarry Inventory]
MILWAUKEE CATHOLIC INTERRACIAL COUNCIL RECORDS, 1959-1969, 0.4 foot.
Newspaper clippings, minutes, newsletters, and scattered correspondence documenting the work of this agency, an affiliate of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice.
MULLANEY, REV. ANTONY, MILWAUKEE FOURTEEN COLLECTION, 1968-1970, 0.3 foot.
Files of a member of the “Milwaukee Fourteen” concerning his involvement in this Vietnam War protest action in Milwaukee, the trial, and his subsequent imprisonment. Newspaper clippings, statements, and notes on prison conditions are included.
[Connect to Antony Mullaney Inventory]
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAITY RECORDS, 1967-1973, 3.4 feet.
Records of an independent Catholic advocacy group (known at first as the National Association of Laymen) which sought "to bring the unique lay dimension to Church renewal," focusing on issues such as conscientious objection to the Vietnam War, the financial accountability of Catholic dioceses, the religious education of Catholic students (opposing government aid to parochial schools), women's rights, and world peace. There are files on committees and projects, conventions, board and officers' meetings, and affiliated organizations, including the Archdiocesan Laity League of Milwaukee. Documentation is scant for the first three years, and there is little or nothing concerning several committees and programs and the decision to dissolve the association in 1973.
[Connect to National Association of Laity Inventory]
NATIONAL BLACK SISTERS' CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1968-[ongoing], 4.7 feet.
Records of a United States based organization of women religious, founded in 1968. Its purpose has been to provide ongoing communication, focusing on the education and support of African American women religious while confronting racism in society and the Catholic Church. The records include correspondence, minutes, unpublished papers, presentations, conference materials, and other materials documenting the programs and services provided by the National Black Sisters Conference (NBSC). Also included are records from its Development of Educational Services in the Growing Nation (DESIGN) program.
[Connect to National Black Sisters' Conference Inventory]
NATIONAL CATHOLIC CONFERENCE FOR INTERRACIAL JUSTICE RECORDS, 1958-2001, 33.1 feet.
Records of the national federation of Catholic human relations agencies and interracial councils, founded in 1960 following the U.S. Catholic bishops' statement on racial discrimination and segregation, including general correspondence, information on affiliated organizations, minutes of meetings of the board of directors, records of conventions and workshops, and subject files concerning Conference services and projects in the areas of education, employment, health care, and legislation. Notable correspondents include Mathew Ahmann, John LaFarge, S.J., John P. Sisson, and Margaret Traxler.
[Connect to National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice Inventory]
NATIONAL CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1922-[ongoing], 36.6 feet.
Records of a membership organization (renamed Catholic Rural Life in 2013) that is engaged in "challenging and enabling rural people to participate in the Church’s evangelizing ministry and to live the faith that does justice," including administrative subject files, minutes and reports of board of directors and executive committee meetings, general correspondence, and periodicals and other publications issued by the Conference. Notable correspondents include Msgr. Luigi G. Ligutti, Edward W. O'Rourke, and James L. Vizzard, S.J.
[Connect to National Catholic Rural Life Conference Inventory]
NATIONAL CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTION CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1954-1970, 2.0 feet.
Correspondence, Board and committee minutes, publications, and reports documenting the annual meetings and other activities of the National Catholic Social Action Conference, founded in 1957 and dissolved in 1970. The collection is composed of the files maintained by Msgr. George G. Higgins (director of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference and ex-officio member of the NCSAC board), treasurer Ed Marciniak, and presidents John C. Cort and Caroline Pezzullo.
[Connect to National Catholic Social Action Conference Inventory]
NATIONAL COALITION OF AMERICAN NUNS RECORDS, 1969-[ongoing], 6.3 feet.
Records of "a group of religious sisters united to study and to speak out on issues related to human rights and social justice," including general correspondence, subject files, publications, and minutes and memoranda of meetings.
[Connect to National Coalition of American Nuns Inventory]
NEW WAYS MINISTRY RECORDS, 1977-[ongoing], 5.5 feet.
Records of a "ministry of education, justice, and reconciliation" for lesbian and gay Catholics, founded in 1977 by Sr. Jeannine Gramick, S.S.N.D., and Fr. Robert Nugent, S.D.S., including publications, subject files, and records of symposia, workshops, and retreats.
[Connect to New Ways Ministry Inventory]
NUGENT, REV. ROBERT, PAPERS, 1953-2013, 4.0 feet.
Correspondence, speaking engagement and subject files, and writings of a Salvatorian priest, documenting his ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics.
[Connect to Robert Nugent Inventory]
O'HARA, ARCHBISHOP EDWIN V., PAPERS, bulk 1920-1956 [16 reels microfilm].
Correspondence and writings by Bishop O'Hara regarding Bible translations, the Catholic Broadcasters Association, the Chemawa Government Indian School (Salem, Oregon), the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, rural life and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, and Catholic Action or Acción Católica. His concerns regarding rural life and Catholic Action pertained to Latin America and the United States.
[Connect to Edwin O'Hara Inventory]
QUIXOTE CENTER RECORDS, 1972-2012, 37.3 cubic feet
Records of a faith-based organization active in the United States, Haiti and Central America, in particular, Nicaragua. Within the Catholic Church the Quixote Center has lobbied for expanding the role of lay people and for women's ordination. Includes board and staff meeting minutes, newsletters, photographic materials, press clippings, publications, videotapes, and DVDs. Personal correspondence between co-founders William Callahan and Dolly Pomerleau is restricted until January 2020.
[Connect to Quixote Center Inventory]
ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMENPRIESTS-USA RECORDS, 2006-, (3.9 feet and 236 MB of electronic records).
Records of an organization of ordained women from the United States that is part of the global Roman Catholic Women Priests movement, seeking full equality for all within the (Roman) Catholic Church. Records include meeting minutes, biographical files, and files related to ordinations. [Connect to RCWP-USA Inventory]
SEMINARIANS' CATHOLIC ACTION COLLECTION, ca. 1941-1948, 1.6 feet.
Personal papers of Msgr. Thomas J. Reese relating to the Seminarians' Catholic Action Movement, which he helped to organize and lead while a student at the Theological College at Catholic University. Correspondence, manuscripts, publications, and reports document the activities of study groups at the Theological College and other seminaries, and the gatherings held at the University of Notre Dame in 1946 and in Montreal in 1947. Also included are minutes of meetings of a Young Christian Workers "cell" in Wilmington, Delaware, 1946-1948.
[Connect to Seminarians' Catholic Action Inventory]
SODALITY MOVEMENT/CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITY-USA RECORDS, 1912-[ongoing], 25.0 feet.
Records of the United States branch of the Sodality/Christian Life Communities movement, founded to promote social action and devotion to Mary among lay Catholics, including correspondence, reports, and publications.
[Connect to Sodality Movement/Christian Life Community-USA Inventory]
TRAXLER, SR. MARGARET ELLEN, S.S.N.D., PAPERS, 1916-1918, 1924, 1941-2002, 6.4 feet.
Papers of an outspoken advocate for the rights of women in society and the Catholic church, who was instrumental in founding the National Coalition of American Nuns and the Institute of Women Today (directing the latter from 1974 until 2000, after eight years on the staff of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice). Sr. Traxler also championed the State of Israel and the cause of Jews seeking to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Included are correspondence, subject files, press clippings, and publications. There is extensive correspondence resulting from her decision to join 23 other religious sisters in signing an ad in the New York Times on the diversity of teachings by some Catholics on abortion. The “Vatican 24” were threatened with dismissal from their congregations if they did not retract their support for the statement. Notable correspondents include Sr. Ritamary Bradley, Mary Margaret Johanning, and Jessica Powers.
[Connect to Margaret Ellen Traxler Inventory]
VOLUNTEER MISSIONARY MOVEMENT USA RECORDS, 1981-2015, 2.0 feet.
Records of the US branch of a faith-based organization founded by Edwina Gateley in 1969 to recruit, train, and place lay volunteers in collaboration with partners in the host countries, including minutes of meetings, newsletters, and reports. The organization dissolved in 2017.
[Connect to Volunteer Missionary Movement USA Inventory]
WOMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1974-[ongoing], 9.8 feet.
Records of a United States based organization promoting "the ordination of women as priests and bishops into a renewed priestly ministry in the (Roman) Catholic Church," including minutes and reports of meetings, newsletters and other publications issued by the Conference, subject and project files, and other records documenting the group's activities.
[Connect to Women's Ordination Conference Inventory]
ZABELKA, REV. GEORGE, PAPERS, 1943-1992, 0.3 foot.
Writings and limited correspondence of a diocesan priest from Michigan (1915-1992) who served as chaplain for the men who dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and later underwent a conversion to total pacifism, after which he engaged in lengthy peace walks and spoke widely on the imperative of gospel nonviolence.
[Connect to George Zabelka Inventory]
