CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTION

BLIED, BENJAMIN J., COLLECTION, 1903-1950, n.d., 0.2 feet.

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, 14.4 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. Notable correspondents include Patrick H. Callahan, John Tracy Ellis, Charles Fahy, Anna Dill Gamble, Carlton J.H. Hayes, John
LaFarge, Elizabeth M. Lynskey, Raymond A. McGowan, Francis E. McMahon, Parker T. Moon, and Elizabeth M. Sweeney. [Connect to Inventory]

COMMUNICATION MINISTRY, INCORPORATED RECORDS, 1977-present, 1.4 feet (unprocessed).

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 quarterly newsletter, retreats and convocations, and outreach to the leadership of the Catholic Church.

CONRAD N. HILTON FUND FOR SISTERS RECORDS, 1986-present, 29.4 feet (42.0 feet unprocessed).
Records of a fund established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1986 to support humanitarian projects directed by Catholic sisters in impoverished and underdeveloped areas worldwide. Most projects pertain to health care, education, economic development, and welfare. Among them are projects that have served indigenous Native Americans in the United States and elsewhere in the Americas. This collection is closed.  [Connect to Inventory] 

COUNCIL ON URBAN AND RURAL LIFE (MILWAUKEE) RECORDS, 1965-1980, 33.6 feet (unprocessed).

Records of a research and social advocacy organization, funded by the United Way and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which served as the urban affairs office for the Archdiocese and conducted lengthy investigations of nursing homes and "redlining" by financial institutions. Included are subject and project files, reports, and publications

CULLEN, MICHAEL D., PAPERS, 1942, 1953-present, 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 Inventory]

DAY, DOROTHY-CATHOLIC WORKER COLLECTION, 1933-present, 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 tapes of interviews, talks, television programs, and peace demonstrations; and a wide variety of publications. [Connect to Inventory]

GROSS, FRANK, PAPERS, 1941-1949, 0.4 foot.

Correspondence and other papers of a Milwaukee banker who was active in  lay Catholic organizations, documenting his efforts to promote the cause of the right-wing "Synarchist" movement in Mexico and the friendships he formed with several of its members. [Connect to Inventory]

JUSTICE AND PEACE CENTER (MILWAUKEE) RECORDS, 1970-1982, 7.5 feet

Records of an advocacy and research organization, founded by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars in 1971 and later supported
by nine religious communities, including general administrative records, minutes of staff and board meetings, newsletters and
other publications, scrapbooks, and  files on specific issues or programs, such as corporate responsibility, integration, legislative action, and welfare). The center closed in 1982.

LERNOUX, PENNY, PAPERS, 1969-1989, 6.0 feet (unprocessed).

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, books, and speaking engagements.

LIGUTTI, MONSIGNOR LUIGI G., PAPERS, 1915-1984, 53 feet (5.5 feet unprocessed).

Papers of a longtime executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference and permanent observer of the Vatican
to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, documenting his efforts to promote rural improvement and food supply throughout the world. Included are extensive general correspondence and subject files, manuscripts, photographs, diaries, and tape-recorded recollections.  

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 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 Inventory]

MILWAUKEE CATHOLIC INTERRACIAL COUNCIL RECORDS, 1959-1969, 2.8 feet.

Newspaper clippings and reports relating to the work of this agency, an affiliate of the National Catholic Conference for
Interracial Justice.

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 Inventory]

NATIONAL BLACK SISTERS CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1968-present, 22.0 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. Other groups who partnered with the NBSC are documented, including the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, National Office for Black Catholics, other religious organizations, Black political organizations and social justice groups. [Connect to Inventory]

NATIONAL CATHOLIC CONFERENCE FOR INTERRACIAL JUSTICE RECORDS, 1956-present, 153.7 feet
(43.2 feet unprocessed).

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 of
the executive directors and other staff members 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 Inventory]

NATIONAL CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1923-present, 105 feet.

Records of a membership organization, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, 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" through educational and advocacy programs, conventions and workshops, and publications.

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 NCSAC's Board), treasurer Ed Marciniak, and presidents John C. Cort and Caroline Pezzullo. [Connect to Inventory]

NATIONAL COALITION OF AMERICAN NUNS RECORDS, 1969-present, 8.0 feet.

Records of "a group of 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 Inventory]

NEW WAYS MINISTRY RECORDS, 1965-present, 32.2 feet (6.0 feet unprocessed).

Records of a "ministry of education, justice, and reconciliation" for lesbian and gay Catholics, founded in 1977 by Jeannine
Gramick, S.S.N.D. and Robert Nugent, S.D.S., including publications, subject files, and records of seminars, symposia,
 workshops, and retreats.

NUGENT, REV. ROBERT, PAPERS, 1963-present, 8.3 feet (3.0 feet unprocessed)

Manuscripts, publications, and speaking engagement and subject files documenting Father Nugent's ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics.

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 Inventory]

SOCIAL ACTION VERTICAL FILES, ca. 1930-present, 18.0 feet.

Published information by and about religiously-motivated organizations and individuals active in peace and social justice
movements.

SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, MILWAUKEE, RECORDS, 1917-1969, 0.5 foot.

Correspondence, minutes, publications, and reports of the Milwaukee Particular Council.

SODALITY MOVEMENT/NATIONAL CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITIES RECORDS, 1912-present, 53.7 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 board minutes, membership files, correspondence, information on local chapters, reports on group activities, convention and workshop reports, local and national publications, photographs, recordings, and
training materials. Notable items include pamphlets written by Fr. Daniel Lord; correspondence with the Catholic episcopacy in
the United States of America, including Cardinals Francis Spellman and Samuel Stritch; and Sodality periodicals from around the
world. [Connect to Inventory]

TRAXLER, SR. MARGARET ELLEN, 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). 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 nuns (she was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame) in signing an ad in the New York Times on the diversity of Catholic teaching 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 Ritamary Bradley, Mary Margaret Johanning, and Jessica Powers. [Connect to Inventory]

WOMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE RECORDS, 1975-present, 30.3 feet (14.3 feet unprocessed).

Records of a US based Catholic organization promoting "the ordination of women as priests and bishops into a renewed priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church."

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