“...even supposing that everyone should finally receive all that is due him, the widest field for charity will always remain open.  For justice alone can, if faithfully observed, remove the causes of social conflict but can never bring about union of hearts and minds.”

~Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno (On Reconstructing the Social Order, #137)

The Franciscan Coalition does not work for justice at the expense of embodied service, works of mercy, and/or charity.  There is something indispensable about the encounter that sets the work of justice in context and gives meaning to our advocacy.  Our tradition – Christian, Catholic, and Franciscan – is full of prophetic witness for justice.  Yet, it is also full of tangible signs of God’s just love for humanity through tangible acts of service and mercy.

Abstracted from “solidarity” with the poor and marginalized, we risk becoming “a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind;” we risk being “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine.”  We are formed and informed not by the latest fads in theology or politics, but the wisdom that flows from the ancient streams of our faith.

Accordingly, through corporeal and concrete acts of justice and peace, we seek to obtain wisdom to address the ills of our society in the mode and manner displayed by our Savior and the saints who have gone before us. 

Our service ministries stem from the needs of our neighbors and the particular giftings of our many-membered body.  As such, they are a dynamic – not static – lot.  At any given time, we have some 15 service ministries run by lay volunteers involved in various capacities.  At the moment, those service ministries include:

For more information, please see the parish website of the Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi (Raleigh, NC), found here.