The Justice and Peace Office is an expression of our charism to bring God's healing love to the poor, the sick, and the needy. Sister Mary Shaw, ASC, promotes and develops programs and activities that inform, inspire and involve the Sisters, Associates and others in the ministry of Justice and Peace.
As Franciscans, we seek to promote human dignity and respect for all creation, while providing a voice for the voiceless through attitudes and behaviors of nonviolence. In conjunction with the Ad Hoc Committee, the Office of Justice and Peace will also monitor and inform on the following issues: Death Penalty, Unjust Systems, Healthcare, and Immigration.
In solidarity with all of God's peoples, especially the poor and disenfranchised, we seek to bring life and healing through our advocacy, stewardship and presence.
NEWS: April 9, 2018 Pope Francis released a new apostolic exhortation today: “Gaudete et Exsultate.” Here are Father James Martin, S.J.’s top five takeaways from this new document.
News: July 5, 2018
In 2017 the 10 year anniversary of the creation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline was celebrated. It was known that human trafficking was a pervasive problem, and so there was struggling with how to fight it due to the underground nature of the crime. Now, there's a Hotline data to pinpoint the most effective ways to disrupt trafficking at the root and help survivors restore their freedom.
ECOLOGY:
Deepening our reverence of creation as it reflects "the presence of the Divine" (Thomas Berry, CP). We will consider ways that we can develop our human-Earth relationship and increase our understanding of the New Cosmology and ecology from a cosmological perspective. We will promote responsible stewardship of the world's resources and encourage this stewardship in our ministries. (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
EMPOWERING WOMEN: Women are not helpless in face of existing challenges. Around the world they are decision-makers for themselves, their families, villages, businesses, and governments. For societies where this is not the case, people speak of the need for women's empowerment. We must ensure that women's empowerment and gender equality stand at the heart of all of our work to craft a better future. (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Human Trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that is widespread throughout both the United States and the world. After the issue of drug dealing in our world, this is the second largest and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
NON-VIOLENCE: Pax Christi says, "Violence ends where love begins. The use of peaceful means, not force, to bring about political or social change." (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
On November 12, 1988, we dedicated the first Peace Pole on our property based on the global Peace Pole Project. On July 2, 2008, we dedicated a new Peace Pole, made of western red cedar, standing seven feet tall. The phrase “May Peace Prevail on Earth” is displayed in six languages: English, Japanese, German, Hebrew, Polish, and Hindi (pictured above).
Women are not helpless in face of existing challenges. Around the world they are decision-makers for themselves, their families, villages, businesses, and governments. For societies where this is not the case, people speak of the need for women's empowerment. We must ensure that women's empowerment and gender equality stand at the heart of all of our work to craft a better future. (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
Human Trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that is widespread throughout both the United States and the world. After the issue of drug dealing in our world, this is the second largest and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
Pax Christi says, "Violence ends where love begins. The use of peaceful means, not force, to bring about political or social change." (To learn more, we invite you to click on the links below.)
