Economist and international lecturer Sister Amata Miller, IHM, gave a history lesson on the United States’ economy, as well as suggestions for its improvement, to close to 100 people on July 25 during “Pope Francis 102: Challenging Our Economic System.”

Sister Amata has worked as the education coordinator and economic advisor at NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby, and has written and lectured extensively. She earned a doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkley.

Former CFO of her religious community, she drove home many points, one being that Pope Francis is not against capitalism but is opposed to markets whose sole aim is to make money at the expense of the wellbeing of others.

Participants asked many thoughtful questions of Sister Amata, who left listeners with concrete actions to address income inequality that included educating oneself on issues, contacting legislators and remaining grounded in one’s faith.

“The crowd was eager to be there and to be engaged with Sister Amata,” said Ginny Schaeffer, director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality, which co-sponsored the Ursuline Campus event with the Social Concerns Committee of the Ursuline Sisters and Associates. “The presentation was informative, challenging, educational, succinct and hopeful.”