September-October 2019

“We cannot watch and stay silent while thousands of vulnerable children and families are subjected to degrading and dehumanizing treatment at the hands of our government. Our Catholic faith calls us to ‘welcome the stranger’ and ensure a dignified life for all God’s people. The Sisters of Mercy add our voice in strong resistance to the cruel practice of detaining children and families at our southern border and advocate for compassionate immigration reform.” -- Sister Pat Vetrano, participant at a public witness Sept. 4th in Newark, N.J.

EARTH

Hundreds of Mercys Take Action for the Climate

Mercy students, sisters, associates, volunteers and co-workers took part in the worldwide global climate strike Sept. 20th with prayer services, legislative advocacy and public witness. Among them were sisters, staff and students on the Mercy campus in Merion, PA; students at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, GA (pictured); a sister in Argentina collecting signatures to protect a local river from pollution; and Our Lady of Mercy School in Rochester breaking ground on

new gardens. You may see these and many more actions in our photo album. Cate Kelly, a senior at Mercy High School in Omaha, wrote about her concerns for the climate crisis that compelled her to take action.

Mercy Adopts Meatless Mondays

The Justice Team provided materials and an invitation to Mercys to consider going without meat at least one day a week beginning in the Season of Creation, to reduce carbon emissions related to meat production and to be in solidarity with communities of the Amazon impacted by industrial-scale cattle grazing. Former Mercy Volunteer Corps members and the dining services at the Auburn and Burlingame, CA, campuses shared their experience on participating in the Sisters of Mercy blog. This guidebook provides information about why to consider reducing your meat consumption, and tasty recipes.

Statement Calls for International Fracking Ban

Mercy Global Action of Mercy International Association signed onto an open letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to publicly demand a global frack-ing ban. The statement was delivered prior to the gathering of the United Nations Gen-eral Assembly and Climate Summit Sept. 23 highlighting a call to action regarding 1) negative climate impacts of fossil gas; 2) environmental and public health implications of fracking; 3) fracking support of the polluting plastics industry and; 4) fracking impacts on human rights.

Mercy Supports Ecological Themes of Synod on the Amazon

In preparation for the Synod on the Amazon, Oct. 6-27, the Sisters of Mercy issued a statement of support along with other Catholic organizations concerned about degra-dation of the rainforest and the human rights abuses against indigenous communities. Sister Ana Siufi of Argentina lamented the impacts of extractive industries throughout the world in her reflection on a meeting of the network Church and Mining. Sister Den-ise Lyttle of Guyana described what she learned during the preparation process for the Synod.

Mercy Investments Leads Effort on Corporate Lobbying

Mercy Investment Services is one of six lead investors sponsoring a letter on corporate lobbying activity related to the climate crisis. “Although many companies have publicly stated support for policies to stem global warming, some companies also finance trade associations that are actively lobbying against those same policies,” said Bryan Pini, president and chief investment officer for Mercy Investment Services. “Investors are concerned about this disconnect and want companies to ensure they’re not financially supporting organizations that contradict essential policy changes that are critical to a just transition to a low-carbon future.” The letter got support from more than 200 global investors with a combined $6.5 trillion in assets under management.

IMMIGRATION

National Campaign Against Child Detention Continues

A coalition of Catholic organizations launched a national campaign July 18th at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., to pressure the Trump Ad-ministration and Congress to end the policies and practices that routinely traumatize children, particularly child and family detention and sepa-ration. In addition to the follow-up actions de-scribed below, Mercy advocates have partici-pated in local prayer services and public wit-ness, including the one pictured in Erie, PA, and made phone calls to legislators in support of the actions.

Second Action in Newark, N.J., September 4

More than 400 people, including more than 40 Sisters of Mercy, Mercy associates and others from the Mercy family, partici-pated in a protest in Newark, New Jersey, against the treat-ment of detained migrants. Pax Christi NJ helped anchor the event, and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark joined the peaceful protesters. Sister Mary Kay Dobrovolny and Jean Sto-kan from the Justice Team discerned a willingness to commit civil disobedience and risk arrest.

Third Action in El Paso, TX, October 11-13

A third public witness of the campaign was held in El Paso, TX, as part of a weekend teach-In and action sponsored by the Hope Border Institute and the Latinx Catholic Leadership Network. Participants included Mercy Sisters Pat Murphy, JoAnn Persch, Mary Ann Poeschl, Rita Specht and Beatrice Garcia, along with Jean Stokan of the Justice Team. The teach-in focused on the obstacles to asylum, and more, facing migrants, as well as the motivation of white supremacy that led to the recent mass killing at the

Walmart in El Paso. The public witness included both a pilgrimage to sites in El Paso near the international bridge to Juarez, as well as a blessing of the bridge and accompaniment of some Mexican asylum seekers across to the U.S. At the conclusion

of the gathering, El Paso’s Bishop Mark Seitz signed and released a new pastoral: Night Will Be No More, on the impact of white supremacy on immigrants.

Sisters Meet with Rep. Kennedy Following July Civil Disobedience

Following the July 18th Catholic civil disobedience witness in Washington to call for the end to the detentnion of immigrant children, Rep. Joseph Kennedy III asked to meet with some of the women religious who participated. Pictured are Institute Leadership Team members Sisters Aine O’Connor and Anne Marie Miller, along with Jean Stokan of the Justice Team and representatives of LCWR, NETWORK and Franciscan Action Network.

MESA Conference Focused on Immigration Critical Concern

The annual conference of the Mercy Education System of the Americas was held on October 19-20 in Oklahoma City, OK, with a focus on immigration. Sisters Kathleen Erickson and Rosemary Welsh gave keynote presentations, and workshops included presentations by Mercy educators on service and advocacy work being done by Mercy schools, as well as integrating border immersion experiences into classroom teaching. An announcement was made that a border delegation for Mercy teachers, administrators and board members will be organized for April 19-24, co-sponsored by MESA and the Justice team. You may apply for this experience here.

Fund Assists with Immigrant and Refugee Adjustment to U.S.

Capital for Change (C4C), a Mercy Partnership Fund investee, in 2018 provided Connecticut Institute for Refugees & Immigrants (CIRI) with a line of credit to continue to ensure that newcomers can fully participate in their communities while celebrating all diverse cultural backgrounds. CIRI works with about 3,200 clients each year to overcome legal, economic, linguistic and social barriers that come with immigrating.

NON-VIOLENCE

Chicago Justice Committee Prays for Gun Violence Prevention Laws

The Mercy Chicago Justice Committee held a prayer service on Oct. 10 for common-sense gun control laws and in remembrance of gun violence victims. Tanja Murray from Moms Demand Action spoke at the service. When prayers were complete, those assembled participated in a candlelit walk to a major intersection near the Mercy campus.

Mercy Center in St. Louis Supports Effort to End Human Trafficking

Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in Saint Louis has committed to supporting efforts to end human trafficking by offering free office space to Jennifer Reyes Lay, the new executive director of U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. In the future, the center looks forward to hosting some of the organization's programs and meetings and having Jennifer present about the organization to different groups.

Solidarity for Human Rights Defenders in Honduras

The Sisters of Mercy Justice Team helped to host Honduran water defenders in Washington, D.C. Oct. 1-4, including setting up visits with key Senate offices and two briefings for staff in the House of Representatives.. On October 3rd, the representatives of the Municipal Committee in Defense of Natural Resources of Tocoa, Honduras, received the prestigious Letelier-Moffitt International Human Rights Award from the Institute for Policy Studies for their courageous work to protest mining that is poisoning the Guapinol River. The

recognition was one fruit of the “root causes” delegation to Honduras last March, co-sponsored by Mercy. Delegates had visited the Guapinol community and brought several representatives into a meeting at the U.S. Embassy to share the story of the work for the environment, for which they were criminalized and placed in jail.

Anti-Racism

School in the Philippines Hosts Anti-racism Workshop

Sisters Helen Libo-on and Virgencita Alegado coordinated an anti-racism analysis workshop at a Mercy-sponsored school in the Philippines in early October. “Our faculty is now challenged to plan the strategies to solve the different problems in our school after learning many things during the workshop,” Sister Helen said.

Detroit Mercys Reflect on Unconscious Biases

Jennifer Reyes Lay, executive director of the Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking Alliance, led about 70 sisters, associates and companions in reflection and interaction on the topic of diversity, during the fall education day in Detroit Oct. 11th. It was a powerful day of self-awareness and how language often reveals our unconscious biases and worldview. The content included a look at micro-aggressions, the “little” ways we offend others by being totally oblivious to the messages we send through language and/or behavior.

Ringing of Bells Marks 400th Anniversary Slavery in the United States

The Sisters of Mercy in Belmont, N.C., rang their chapel bells and held a prayer service Aug. 25th to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first slave ship to the United States. They joined other places of worship and institutions in also calling for racial healing.

OTHER CRITICAL CONCERNS ENGAGEMENT

Explore Mercy Global Presence

Mercy International Association launched at the end of September an 18-month process to explore the unfolding of Mercy Global Presence in a troubled world. Participants will help shape the images, language and theology needed to recognize and describe this new vision. All in Mercy are invited to engage with this material individually, in small groups or in large groups. You may subscribe to the weekly Mercy E-News from Mercy International Association to receive direct links to the materials and

other updates on the process. Contact Marianne Comfort of the Mercy Justice Team at mcomfort@sistersofmercy.org for more information.

Mercy Investment Services Supports Impact Investing Pledge

Mercy Investment Services has joined Ascension Health, the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, the Daughters of Charity – Province of St. Louise, the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the first investors to support the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative (CIIC) Pledge. The pledge calls on all Catholic institutions to align their investments with their mission by including investments with a positive impact in their portfolios. As part of the announcement, the collaborative highlighted MIS’ work.

SAVE THE DATE

SOA Watch Gathering to Return to Fort Benning Nov. 15-17

SOA Watch’s annual rally and vigil will be held Nov. 15-17 at Fort Benning, GA, the site of the School of the Americas. The weekend will mark the 30th anniversary of the killings of Jesuits and two women at Central American University in El Salvador. The Sisters of Mercy will be organizing a presence at the rally and vigil. For more information, contact Sister Rose Marie Tresp at rtresp@mercysc.org.

Register for Border Immersion Delegations

Several immersion delegations to the US-Mexico border are being planned over the next few months. You may register here and indicate which delegation you are most interested in, and you will receive additional information and an application. The programs are scheduled for Nov. 21-26, 2019, in El Paso, TX, and Juarez, Mexico; March 21-26, 2020, in El Paso, TX, and Juarez, MX, and April 19-24, 2020, in the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, co-sponsored with MESA and geared for Mercy educators and administrators.

Registration is Open for Ecumenical Advocacy Days, April 24-27

Join us in Washington, D.C., April 24-27, 2020, for this im-portant gathering of Christian advocates and activists. We will worship, delve deeply into the pressing issues of the day, and lift our voices by speaking truth to power on Capi-tol Hill. The 2020 theme is "“Imagine! God’s Earth and Peo-ple Restored.” At this crucial time in history, we will lift up the global crisis of environmental injustice, with special at-tention to the intersection of climate change and economic

injustice. It is not too early to register to attend and let us know if you do!

RESOURCES

Pastoral Letter in Wake of Mass Shooting in El Paso

Bishop Mark Joseph Seitz of El Paso wrote a pastoral letter in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a Walmart in that city that he connects to hatred and racism against the community’s Latino population.

View “Faces of Family Separation”

CBS News takes viewers inside the real-life challenges facing migrant families split apart by the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” policy. The documentary provides an immersive look at the hotly debated issue through the eyes of those impacted the most -- the fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters separated and unsure of when they’ll see their family members again.

Author Connects Climate Change, White Supremacy and Immigration

In an interview about her new book, Naomi Klein makes connections between climate change, white supremacy and immigration and challenges progressives to reckon with the limits of endless consumption. She talks about solutions to the climate crisis, Greta Thunberg, birth strikes and how she finds hope.

Updated Mercy Advocacy Information Available

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Share Your Stories

We welcome all news items and photos for Mercy Justice Highlights. Please send items to mcomfort@sistersofmercy.org. Photos are always welcome.