Social Action Home Page

The Iowa Catholic Conference’s “Supportive Care Iowa” - released a webinar to help those seeking guidance on making health care decisions in alignment with Catholic moral teaching.  Click here to view webinar.

Welcome to the Official Website for the Office of Social Action of the Diocese of Davenport.

Mission Statement

To support communities of faith in our Diocese in acting upon Catholic Social Teaching Principles.

History of the Two Feet of Social Justice.
The Two Feet of Social Justice logo was the inspiration of Msgr. Marvin Mottet, the first director of  the Social Action Department in the Diocese of Davenport.  

How to Change the World Two Feet at a Time: Lessons from the Life of Fr. Marvin Mottet by Suzanne Pitz & Arthur Pitz 

Msgr. Marvin Mottet was a remarkable priest and social justice innovator.  Although born on a farm in rural Iowa at a time when Catholics were often an untrusted minority, he went on to become the national director of what is now the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.  He brought many national justice figures to Davenport, Iowa, such as Caesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr., and (then) Mother Teresa, to inspire action by others.  As an advocate of organizing people to address problems in society, he was the co-creator (always working for others to lead) of many social service organizations still active in the Quad Cities area.  The Two Feet in the title refer to his concept that to move forward in life, and in social justice, we need two feet, charity to meet immediate needs of people, and social change to address the causes of people’s needs.  This biographical memoir is the result of hundreds of hours of interviews by the authors while he was yet in the final stages of his struggle with cancer.  The proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the non-profit organizations Msgr Mottet chose.  Click here ink for more information about book.  A copy of this book can be purchase at Amazon.   Please help us get the word out.

• Catholic Framework for Economic Life            Spanish

• Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching

• USCCB Examination of Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching   PDF

• USCCB Action Alerts

• Economic Justice for All: A Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy.

Social Action Monthly Lunch and Learn is held the First Thursday of the month at noon.  To view or register for our next session click here.  For those not available at that particular time, the session will be recorded and available on the Diocesan YouTube channel.  In addition, Barb Arland-Fye will publish a series of articles on the experience.

To view previou session please visit YouTube playlist on the Diocesan YouTube Channel.

The Diocesan Social Action Office has a variety of tools to keep you informed of relevant issues and activities.

One of these is our Two Feet Newsletter which is distributed monthly via e-mail. To subscribe fill out the registration form here.

Google Groups:

• Social Action Advocacy: Addressing legislative advocacy on social issues of concern to the Catholic Church and encouraging faithful citizenship.

• Parish Social Action: Provide resources, ideas and opportunities for parishioners to live out their faith working for charity and justice.

• NEW Voices for Rural Life: Educate, share concerns and suggest advocacy opportunities related to life in rural Iowa.

For more information please contact:

The office of Social Action  at [email protected] or call 563-888-4210
or
Glenn Leach, [email protected]  or call 563-888-4214