Guided by Catholic Social Teaching and the Gospel's call to love one another and participate in the Reign of God, the Magnificat Campus Ministry Department has several student led initiatives to bring about awareness and follow up with social action to address local, national and global justice issues.

For more information about Catholic Social Teaching, we invite you to visit the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops website at http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching.cfm.

Students getting ready to deliver collections from HUMBLE HANDS.

In both ADVENT and LENT, students are made aware of injustices that impact our brothers and sisters locally, nationally and internationally. During these liturgical seasons the school community focuses on what it means to be in solidarity with those suffering from social injustice. During ADVENT, students organize the HUMBLE HANDS project. Through the HUMBLE HANDS project, we partner with organizations in the Greater Cleveland community and in Appalachia with whom we have developed relationships. Students learn about the challenges and struggles that our brothers and sisters in Christ face every day, and take action by committing what resources they have available to help alleviate some of the physical needs of our brothers and sisters in the community. The LENTEN PROJECT is similarly organized, but takes a look at the broader global community. During the LENTEN PROJECT we reflect on social justice issues and raise awareness about the challenges faced in countries around the world. In the past, we have included El Salvador, Ecuador, Haiti and Uganda as countries of primary focus during the LENTEN PROJECT.


Peace and Justice Club is another opportunity for students at Magnificat to explore what it means to live out the Gospel's call to respect all life by working for justice. Using the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching, students in the Peace and Justice Club perform social analysis of justice issues and pursue actions to challenge the structures that create injustice in our local, national and global community. Using the See, Judge, Act cycle of analysis, students are invited to identify a justice issue (SEE), educate themselves and make others aware of the issue (JUDGE), and develop a plan of action that calls for change and justice (ACT). The Peace and Justice Club is directed by a team of student leaders who coordinate and facilitate monthly meetings as well as activities and events throughout the school year.

Student speakers at the Youth Rally for Life on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland last January.

Peace and Justice Club students also collaborate with other diocesan high schools through CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE (CSPJ). CSPJ is a network of peace and justice clubs from other high schools in the Diocese of Cleveland. To learn more about Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice, please visit their website www.cspj.net. Through CSPJ, students are able to use their collective voice to speak out against social justice issues, particularly issues regarding the respect for life. Past CSPJ events that Magnificat students have participated in include the Mass, March and Rally for Life in October and the Fair Trade Expo.

Students at World Fair Trade Day at Villa Maria, PA, motherhouse of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary.

The FAIR TRADE TASK FORCE at Magnificat is a student led group focused on organizing the school community around Fair Trade initiatives. Fair Trade is a form of trade that focuses on workers who produce our goods and ensures that they are treated with dignity and justice. Students in the FAIR TRADE TASK FORCE become aware of the details of Fair Trade and the impacts that go farther than simply providing a fair wage. Students educate themselves about the positive community impact and development that result from Fair Trade and they seek to promote the same awareness and education to others in the community. The FAIR TRADE TASK FORCE at Magnificat also examines ways that we can support Fair Trade as a school community and seeks to make more Fair Trade products available on campus as well as promoting a sense of conscious consumerism.