Our Economic Policies Should Reflect Our Values

Support Economic Policies that Promote the Dignity of Work and Justice for Latin America’s Marginalized Communities

Our Economic Policies Should Reflect Our Values

Support Economic Policies that Promote the Dignity of Work and Justice for Latin America’s Marginalized Communities

May 22, 2025•American Jesuits International

As people of faith, we are called to stand with the poor and marginalized, to uphold the dignity of work, and to care for our global neighbors. Many Latin American communities—especially Indigenous and small-scale producers—are excluded from fair economic opportunities due to unjust trade, labor, and investment policies.

For decades, the Jesuits have worked alongside rural and agricultural communities, accompanying them as they develop new economic models that reflect our shared Catholic values. Confident that “the economy must serve people, not the other way around,” we continue to advocate for global economic models that respect the dignity of work, the humanity of everyone involved in the different levels of the value chains that produce the goods we receive, and the our moral obligation to prioritize the needs of the poor and marginalized over commodities.

Join us in urging the U.S. government to support economic policies that promote human dignity, environmental stewardship, and the common good. Together, we can build a just economy rooted in Catholic social teaching.

Economic Policies that reflect our Catholic values

Use this email form to contact Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and advocate for economic policies that reflect our Catholic values.

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Dear Secretary Bessent,

As a person of faith, I write to urge you to support U.S. economic policies that reflect our shared moral responsibility to uphold human dignity, protect workers’ rights, and prioritize the needs of the poor and marginalized—especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Catholic social teaching reminds us that “the economy must serve people, not the other way around.” Work is more than a means to survive—it is a reflection of the dignity of the human person and a cornerstone of just and thriving communities. Sadly, too many people across Latin America—especially Indigenous and rural communities—are excluded from the benefits of global trade and investment policies that prioritize profit over people and the planet.

I ask you to champion economic policies that:
•	Protect the rights of workers, including fair wages, safe conditions, and collective organizing;
•	Support small-scale, community-based economies that put people before profit;
•	Prioritize the participation of marginalized communities in decisions that affect their livelihoods;
•	Respect and uphold Indigenous rights and cultural traditions;
•	Promote ecological sustainability and care for our common home.

Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Jesuit-led initiatives are proving that people-centered economic development can work. Through cooperatives, social enterprises, and solidarity-based business models, communities are building alternative economies rooted in justice, sustainability, and the common good. These efforts deserve to be supported—not undermined—by U.S. policy.

As your office debates trade, labor, and foreign policy decisions that impact our neighbors in Latin America, I urge you to remember that we are all part of one human family. Let us strive for an economy that reflects our deepest values: solidarity, justice, and respect for human dignity.

Thank you for your public service and for considering policies that truly serve the common good.

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen

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Join the U.S. Jesuits in Advocacy

The U.S. Senate is currently debating H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by the House of Representatives in May. This bill mainly relates to taxation, budget, and spending– which influence our lives across a number of areas: from food security to family life, healthcare, the environment, immigration, education, and how we help the poorest among us. While there are some very good measures in H.R. 1, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology sent a letter to the Senate expressing our concern about several measures within the bill.

Join us in asking the U.S. Senate to prioritize human needs in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by preserving health coverage, SNAP, and measures that protect our common home!

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