A Season of
Faithful Witness
A Pastoral Call to Hope
Across our country, many families are facing uncertainty and strain. In this moment, Catholics are called to prayer, to seek moral clarity rooted in the Gospel, and to offer faithful public witness grounded in Catholic Social Teaching.
Why This Season Matters
We are living in a moment of profound moral consequence for our country and our Church.
Many communities are carrying heavy burdens, families experiencing separation, increased violence at home and abroad, and a broader strain on trust in public life. In times like these, the Church is called to offer prayer, charity, moral clarity, and pastoral presence.
Many pastors and parish leaders are hearing a renewed call to accompany people who are anxious, isolated, or afraid and to bring pastoral care where it is requested, including in places of confinement.
Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that human dignity must be safeguarded not only through personal acts of compassion, but through just laws and institutions that respect conscience, religious liberty, and the common good. When these protections erode, it is always the vulnerable who suffer first and most.
As Catholics, we believe that “a just society can become a reality only when it is based on respect for the transcendent dignity of the human person.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 132)
Scripture reminds us:
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” (Proverbs 31:8)
What We’re Calling For
This moment calls Catholics to renewed prayer and faithful witness.
In this season, Catholics in Communion is inviting parishes, institutions, and communities across the United States to step forward together in a Season of Faithful Witness.
Spanning from Ash Wednesday through Corpus Christi, this season offers a shared framework for prayer, discernment, and peaceful public witness rooted in the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching.
In this season, Catholics are invited to:
Engage in prayerful discernment within parishes and communities about what faithful witness looks like in your local context.
Participate in prayerful and peaceful acts of public witness that are rooted in our Catholic tradition and that affirm human dignity and the sanctity of family life.
Cultivate parish social ministries that value a “consistent ethic of life,” promote the common good, and that extend the corporal works of mercy to families and individuals who are most in need.
Together, we seek to affirm the essential role of the Catholic faithful in shaping a culture of life and building what the tradition calls a civilization of love.
Take Part
Faithful witness is not meant to be carried alone.
The Season of Faithful Witness invites Catholics across the country to respond to this moment by working alongside other pastoral, parish, and community leaders to pray, discern, and serve together in communion.
Here’s how you can participate:
Join the Season of Faithful Witness
By joining, you are committing to walking with others throughout this season - from Ash Wednesday through Corpus Christi - engaging in prayerful discernment and shared moments of peaceful public witness.
Participants will:
•Receive access to a downloadable toolkit with formation and resources to help your parish or community discern and respond faithfully in your local context.
Receive invitations to shared national moments of prayer and witness.
Be connected with other faith leaders for fellowship, shared formation, and mutual support.
