The records in this collection document the grassroots social justice activities of the Catholic Action Network (CAN), a non-profit organization which organized a variety of actions, events, and programs in support of racial justice, women's rights and the equality of women within the Catholic Church, environmental justice, LGBTQ equality, labor justice, international peace and trade justice, and similar causes in the Saint Louis area. The organization closed in 2015 after the establishment of the Peace and Justice Commission was established by the Archdiocese of Saint Louis.

The Catholic Action Network collection is comprised of four series - (1) Administrative Records, (2) Publications and Publicity, (3) Actions, Events, and Programs, and (4) Financial Records. Of particular interest is Series 1, which documents the mission of the organization and includes the executive board and planning minutes in which much of the operational planning of the organization is contained, as well as Series 3, which comprises the bulk of the material and documents many of the actions, events, and programs organized by CAN during its 16-year existence. Please consult the individual series descriptions in the links below for more information on each series.