Six Neumann student will join more than 1,300 social justice advocates affiliated with universities, high schools, parishes, and the larger Catholic Church at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ), November 15-17 in Washington, D.C. Lilian Escobar, Mike Fisher, Joe Montgomery, Ciara Travers, Kellie Waters and Josh Yearwood are the students who will attend.

In addition to the workshops, keynote addresses, and policy discussions, participants will rally on Capitol Hill on Monday, November 17, before collectively meeting with more than 125 U.S. Congressional offices. Advocates will visit with their respective lawmakers to urge Congress members to pass humane comprehensive immigration reform, support human rights oriented policies in Central America, and respond to climate change and effects marginalizing the economically poor.

The 17th annual Teach-In will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the murders of six Jesuit priests and two laywomen, killed in El Salvador on November 16, 1989, by Salvadoran military for their defense of the economically poor. This year’s Teach-In includes the national premiere of a documentary depicting the story and legacy of these murders. Entitled “Blood in the Backyard,” the approximately 30-minute documentary was produced by Loyola Productions.

Keynote speakers include Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International; Michael Lee, Ph.D., professor of systematic theology at Fordham University; Fr. Ismael Moreno Coto, S.J., a Honduran human rights activist; Caroline Brennan, senior communications officer at Catholic Relief Services; Fr. James Martin, S.J., editor-at-large at America Magazine; Fr. Tom Reese, S.J., columnist at National Catholic Reporter; and Daniel Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Climate Covenant.
     
The IFTJ is a nationwide social justice conference sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, a national lay-led, faith-based, social justice organization that works to mobilize Jesuit universities, high schools, parishes and ministries, and the larger church throughout the United States in order to effect positive social change on critical issues facing the world. Teach-In attendees represent more than eighty Catholic institutions in twenty-five states, Canada, and Mexico.