Since I prepared the Catholic Interracial Council agendas after talking them over with Charles Toney, I emphasized statewide and national thinking. We organized letter writing campaigns to influence federal legislation. Years later in Washington, D.C., Congressman Jim Leach said in a meeting, “There’s the number one letter writer of First District.”
Fr. Mottet wrote and received substantive letters throughout his life. He believed in the power of speaking out in appropriate ways. Near the end if his life he identified “be a citizen lobbyist” as one of the ten most important lessons of his life.
The Gamaliel Foundation, which does great work all over the country, is named after Gamaliel, a great Jewish teacher, quoted in Acts 5: “If this plan is of man, it will fail, but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God.” In 1986, Greg Galluzzo became Executive Director of Gamaliel, and we hit it off right away. Greg used to visit me every week and stay overnight at the rectory. I think he mentored Barack Obama in Chicago. I always wondered if Barack Obama worked for one the groups we funded when he was a community organizer. One time I saw him get off a plane, and he said, “Good to see you again”. I think he was faking.
Near the end of his life, he stood from his wheelchair to shake hands with President Barack Obama as he deplaned in Iowa. He was advocating for what he called “the greatest miracle of my life,” an economic development initiative with the potential to provide jobs and justice for workers, particularly veterans.