By: Sr. Gemma Doll, Justice Promoter

“Hope is the muscle for resistance.”  –Elizabeth Johnson

Nearly 100 Justice Promoters of LCWR Congregations met at the Martin de Porres Center recently to ask “How are we to be?  What is ours to do?”   

Mumbi Kigutha CPPS, Director of Solidarity with South Sudan, gave a global perspective on injustice.  She raised Gospel values where the first is last and the last first, or in the words of Christ, Blessed are the meek, Blessed are the poor.  Religious women are no longer strong in number, but we hold a moral voice based in a long history of direct service, hearing daily the cries of the poor.  Our voice is humble and authentic as we accompany the vulnerable in our own vulnerability.  We have direct experience of suffering and stay with the suffering. 

Mumbi called us to prayer, and especially to lamentation as we face pain and oppression and encounter God.  She drew from the writings of Robert Schreiter, CPPS, calling for reconciliation, which starts with the healing of the wounded and the creation of safe, healing spaces. 

Christin Tomey, OP, led us through the historical journey of the impact of the Doctrine of Discovery on Indigenous Peoples and People of Color. In our history, “Discovery” equaled "Ownership," and a Christian held more value in our society than a Native.  Sadly, the Church justified colonization and white privilege, which is now encoded in US Property law. More than 90 million acres were stolen from the Indigenous peoples of our nation, who still suffer from being ripped from the land.  As tragic, the land suffers from the extractive priorities of White owners, mining, drilling, and deforesting.

Some Congregations are now trying to repair the harm done in Indian Boarding Schools. Native religion, language, and cultural traditions were suppressed, often cruelly. White “goodwill” unwittingly led to near genocide.  Christin suggested an alternative: a move from "Saviorism" to "Solidarity," and from being stewards to becoming relatives.

Contemplative prayer, art, and music closed each day.  Much of the conference was spent in dialogical processes, using World Café techniques and the Synodal processes.  Participants formed a community and found encouragement and capacity to better engage in justice ministry with a commitment to collaborate and to claim our moral voice. 

Sr. Gemma Doll and others drew from years of experience to support each other
and justice causes rooted on our Gospel tradition.