Last October, 19 House Democrats held a shadow hearing in Chicago where witnesses described the many abuses inflicted upon them by federal agents. One of those Democrats asking questions was Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) who was shocked by what she heard.
In an interview with me, Scanlon described the testimony of a young woman who left college to care for her disabled sister because her mother had been spirited away by ICE agents. A servicemember testified that his father was deported while he was trying to get home and now had to support his family. School officials testified that children were afraid to leave their parents and come to school, not knowing whether they would be home upon their return. Small business leaders reported a drastic drop in foot traffic because people were scared to leave their homes. Many said they were frightened of the drones flying over their neighborhoods in the dark of night.
As Scanlon told me, "Every day there's a new atrocity, a new undermining of civility."
She described Congress as "absent" in offering legislative remedies to the abuses she described. She keenly feels Congress's failure to live up to its constitutional responsibilities and sees a Republican Party that is so paralyzed by President Trump that any bipartisan compromise is deemed "disloyal."
If Congress is failing to meet the moment, Scanlon sees other pillars of civil society that are rising to the occasion.
Religious institutions are one. Scanlon cited Pope Leo XIV, who has condemned those who treat migrants "as if they were garbage and not human beings." She cited the November letter issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that denounced the "vilification of immigrants" as a seminal moment. She said those actions permitted every Catholic priest to preach a gospel message of love from their neighborhood altars.
As an example, Scanlon cited a Eucharistic procession held in Philadelphia last month led by Father Dennis Gill, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. It drew more than 100 people to pray outside an ICE facility. Gill described the silent protest as conforming to Jesus's message: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me." Those present, Scanlon said, "appreciated the aligning of their faith with their protest."
Such silent protests, she says, are "not your vocal, in-your-face politics." Instead, they represent a shift in public sentiment, a heightened sense of empathy based on the simple message of love thy neighbor.
And it is this season of love that may be quietly emerging, not just in the form of religious protests, but in other pillars of civil society that puts the wellbeing of individuals first.
Scanlon cites labor unions as another resource whose organizing efforts are focused on seeking economic justice. And Americans are applauding those efforts. Gallup reports a rise in public support for labor unions from 48 percent in 2009 to 68 percent today.
Law firms representing indigent and disenfranchised migrants are also gaining public support and have aligned themselves with religious leaders. In San Diego, Catholic Bishop Michael Pham, a refugee from Vietnam, is standing with immigrants in their courtroom proceedings alongside their attorneys.
What unites these quiet protests is a commitment to love one another.
In many ways, this emerging movement echoes the "Beloved Community" that empowered the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In his book, "His Truth Is Marching On," historian Jon Meacham quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. as describing the kingdom of God as being "controlled by the law of love."
This emerging season of love is elevating leaders who speak to this moment. In Texas, Democratic State Rep. James Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate, blends his calls for justice with his Christian faith. As Talarico has stated, "I am trying to love my neighbor through public policy by reducing the cost of prescription drugs, reducing the cost of child care, reducing the cost of housing."
In 2028, a new president will be elected. My bet is voters will be looking for a candidate who subscribes to the late Hubert Humphrey's maxim that "the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped."
Should that happen, a new era of empathy and compassion will have arrived.
John Kenneth White is a professor emeritus at The Catholic University of America. His latest book is titled "Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism."