He Called for a Culture of Encounter So I Showed Up at the Statehouse

By Jenny Kraska Executive DirectorMaryland Catholic Conference Working in the world of policy and legislative advocacy for the Church can sometimes feel like standing at a crossroads: one foot in the Gospel, the other in the halls of government. It’s a space where competing values and fast-moving agendas often leave little room for mercy, nuance, or human complexity. But during the pontificate of Pope Francis, something changed for me — not in the work itself, but in the conviction with which I carried it. Francis’ witness gave many of us in advocacy roles a renewed clarity. Not the kind that shouts or simplifies, but the kind rooted in encounter. Again and again, he reminded us: the Church does not stand apart from the suffering of the world; she kneels beside it. That was not a metaphor for him. It was a pastoral mandate. For those of ...