Rights and Responsibilities

PAULIST CENTER Theme for 2026-2027–
A More Perfect Union: Rights, Responsibilities, and Human Dignity

Last year, as a Catholic Christian faith community, we were invited to reckon more deeply with the social justice crises unfolding in our country and around the world. In a time of profound anxiety, division, and concern for human rights, we turned to the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching as an anchor for truth, conscience, and faithful action. We chose the theme – the life and dignity of the human person – to be front and center in Paulist Center programming, calling us to acknowledge, collaborate, and support one another in faith as we respond with clarity, courage, and a steadfast commitment to justice.

Building on last year’s theme, our focus this year turns to another core principle of Catholic Social Teaching: Rights and Responsibilities. This principle affirms that every person has a fundamental right to life and to the conditions necessary to thrive, including access to food, shelter, education, and health care. These rights are inseparable from our shared responsibilities—to care for one another, strengthen our families and communities, and work together for the common good. As a guiding theme for 2026-2027, Rights and Responsibilities can help shape programming, formation, dialogue, and public witness
around a shared commitment to human dignity and faithful civic engagement.

This moment in our nation’s history — the 250th anniversary of the United States, the enduring vision of Isaac Hecker as founder of the first American-founded religious order, the challenges and opportunities before us as we approach the midterm elections, and the continuing vulnerability of human dignity — offers a timely opportunity to deepen our understanding of rights and responsibilities as a bridge between intrinsic human dignity, faithful stewardship, and generous love.

The lens of “we” over “I” offers a way to engage the defining challenges of our time, including the digital age and artificial intelligence, the struggle to raise families with dignity amid inadequate systemic supports, and the fragmentation and polarization of public life. It shifts our focus beyond hyper-individualism, asking not only what rights each person holds, but how we, as the Body of Christ, are responsible for one another in our interdependence and connection. Inspired by our nation’s enduring call to build “a more perfect union,” we seek to foster a culture of compassion, justice, and belonging—one in which every person has access to the basic conditions for a dignified life and is empowered to contribute to the well-being of the whole community, both locally and globally.

Our hope is that through this focus, we can be empowered to strengthen the bonds that unite us and emboldened to live out our responsibility as missionary disciples, rooted in faith, renewed in hope, and sent forth in joy and love.

Below are highlights of Fall events to help us on this journey (see bulletin for specific event/details):

Saturday & Sunday, September 12 & 13, All Masses – Blessing & Commissioning of Colleen Burns

Hiring the first layperson to executive leadership at The Paulist Center represents a profound structural toward the Vatican II vision of lay co-responsibility. The Paulist Fathers formally list inviting and increasing the role of women in leadership and ministry as one of their core, ongoing mission priorities. By entrusting authentic decision-making power to a laywoman, the center honors the inherent human dignity and equality of all baptized Catholics, actively dismantling traditional gender barriers in ministry. This milestone directly embodies the fundamental right of the laity to participate in the life of the Church and the reciprocal responsibility of Catholic institutions to foster equal opportunity. Ultimately, this appointment demonstrates the principle of subsidiarity in action, proving that the spiritual and professional gifts of women are crucial to the governance and future of the faith community.

Saturday, September 19, 9:00 AM – 4 PM: Service Project: Come Paint with Us!

This hands-on service project beautifully reflects our commitment to this year’s theme of Rights and Responsibilities. Catholic social teaching affirms that youth from families with limited financial resources have a fundamental right to an excellent, dignified education in an environment that is safe, welcoming, and inspiring. As a community, we share a corresponding responsibility to step up and actively support institutions like Cristo Rey High School that bring this vision to life. By giving our time to scrape and paint the campus fence, we take a direct, tangible role in honoring the dignity of these students and building up the common good of our wider neighborhood.

Sunday, September 20th Family Religious Education Program (FREP) Kick-off 10 AM

As we launch a new year of religious education, our community is grounding ourselves in the vital
Catholic Social Teaching theme of Rights and Responsibilities. We often call the family the “domestic church” —the very place where faith, justice, and love are first lived out. Every child and adult has a fundamental right to the conditions needed to thrive, and as a community, we share a sacred responsibility to uphold those rights for one another and for our global neighbors. This year, our classes will not just focus on traditional lessons, but on how we can actively practice justice, champion human dignity, and stand with the vulnerable.

Saturday, September 26 th at 5 PM: Celebration of the 2025 Hecker Award Winner, Colleen Sharka

Please join us to celebrate Colleen Sharka, LMHC, co-founder of “CAN WE TALK” (CWT), a community sharing program on trauma and healing based at the Social Impact Center of Roxbury Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Colleen partnered with Rev. Liz Walker to co-found CAN WE TALK, and developed the program’s curriculum and built its network of sites nationwide; as of May 2025, CWT operates in 20 locations across six states and Washington, D.C. Since 2014, CWT has offered urban neighborhoods a peer-centered path through trauma, helping individuals move from surviving to actively helping others heal. In a world fractured by systemic violence and polarization, Colleen has consistently stepped forward to answer this collective duty by building communities of healing. Her life and career offer a profound witness to our theme this year.

Sunday, September 27 th @ 7 PM: A.I. Ethics Through a Catholic Lens

Join us at the Paulist Center for the first in a series of seminars exploring the intersection of Catholicism and Artificial Intelligence, viewed through the vital framework of Catholic Social Teaching. Dr. Raul Zegarra and Richard Gerulson will lead the evening’s discussion directly centering on the core values of Rights and Responsibilities. In an increasingly digital world, every person holds a fundamental right to human dignity, data privacy, and protection from algorithmic systems that calcify bias or exploit vulnerable communities. Correspondingly, we as a society—and specifically tech developers and corporate
leaders—carry a sacred moral responsibility to build accountable, transparent tools that prioritize systemic fairness and human liberation rather than mere economic profit.

Sunday, October 4 at 11:30 AM – The Crisis in Plastic

This critical session directly addresses this year’s theme by examining how environmental degradation impacts our global family. Every human being has a fundamental right to a safe, healthy environment, clean air, and protection from toxic hazards that cause disease and disability. Because the harms of plastic pollution fall most heavily upon children and marginalized populations, we share a collective moral responsibility to put the common good and the protection of the vulnerable ahead of short-term economic gain. Join pediatrician and epidemiologist Dr. Philip J. Landrigan as he discusses evidence-based interventions to combat this crisis and explores how we can honor our sacred duty to protect human health and the planet.

Sunday, November 8 th @ 3 PM – Jimmy Tingle Fundraiser – Hope in Humanity

Jimmy Tingle uses comedy as a force for good and a catalyst for social change, proving that personal resilience can inspire collective hope. Tingle exercises the fundamental right to free speech and artistic expression to critique society and address systemic issues. In addition, he demonstrates that privilege and talent come with a responsibility to give back. Through his organization Humor for Humanity, he uses his platform to fulfill a civic duty—raising funds and awareness for non-profits and mobilizing audiences to "turn toward" social causes and work for a better world.

Saturday & Sunday, December 12 & 13 @ 8 & 2 PM: Where Hope Begins – Festival of Readings and Carols

Hope is not a passive wish; it is a dynamic, living force that begins anew when we recognize that everyone is inherently valued by God, moving us to actively build a better world. Every person has an inherent right to dignity and inclusion as “God’s beloved.” And every person has a duty to defend the vulnerable, “turn toward” one another, and actively work to heal a fractured world.