The third annual McLaughlin Social Justice Institute of Lasallian Practice (MSJI) took place June 16-29 at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. This two-week intensive academic, community and field experience program helped college students and rising high school seniors learn how their own social identities affect their engagement with others.
Twenty-six students and faculty participated in this year’s MSJI. Coming from across the United States as well as Bogotá, Colombia, participants represented five Lasallian higher education institutions, including Christian Brothers University, La Salle University, Lewis University, Manhattan University and Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá.
Through classroom instruction, talks from experts in law and medicine, and trips throughout Memphis, students engaged with issues such as food scarcity, immigration, homelessness, health care, racism, ecology, and how other religious denominations view social justice.
A typical day began with breakfast, followed by three hours of formal classroom instruction on Catholic social teaching based on encyclicals and pastoral letters from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. After lunch, there was a three-hour field experience or site visit, followed by two hours of free time prior to dinner. Each evening included a two-hour class, and a closing evening prayer. Upon completion of the program, participants earned three transferable college credits.
MSJI was made possible due to the generosity of many benefactors, the Regional Conference of Christian Brothers, the administration of Christian Brothers University, and faculty and administrators from Lasallian schools. Plans for next summer’s MSJI are currently underway. If you have any questions, contact Brother Pat Conway, FSC, at pconway@cbmidwest.org, or visit his exhibit table at the 2024 Huether Lasallian Conference in Baltimore.