Search Results for label/Human Rights Day
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Imperfect mercy
“Jesus Christ is the face of the [Creator]’s mercy… Everything in him speaks of mercy. Nothing in him is devoid of compassion.” (Pope Francis, “Misericordiae Vultus”) As I sat on a sunny January morning pondering these words, I felt a resistance churning in me. This statement of truth felt almost too perfect to touch, too complete to be real. Is it possible that every piece of Christ’s existence spoke of mercy to those around him? What about the human pieces...
Celebrating 8th Day Center for Justice
...committed to this mission, 8th Day Center for Justice was born. As Sister Dorothy Pagosa, a Sister of Saint Joseph, explains in 8th Day’s publication “Centerings,” “The name ‘8th Day’ was chosen from a phrase in St. Augustine’s City of God in which he wrote that ‘we are in the 8th Day, and creation will not be complete until justice rules the land.’ ” Over the past 44 years, 8th Day staff and members have made manifest countless glimpses of this “8th...
Digging deeper: misconceptions and immigration
...borders. Still, we as a people of faith hold that human rights take precedence over states’ desires to limit international migration. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in its pastoral letter “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” demonstrates this priority: “… migrants, like all persons, possess inherent human dignity that should be respected … Government policies that respect the basic human rights of the undocumented are necessary.” Numerous papal encyclicals have also spoken to the “right...
An unforgettable moment
...visit to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Finally, the Sisters of Providence were so welcoming and warm. They told me I have my ancestor’s eyes. I feel great pride because the Sisters of Providence are actively defending human rights, women’s rights, fighting against racism, putting nature in the center of the Universe, and promoting education. They’re independent-minded, loving and transforming the world into a better place. I’m amazed. I want to thank the people I’ve met who were kind enough to share their...
Examining International Equal Pay Day
International Equal Pay Day was established at the initiative of the United Nations (UN) in 2019. It was created with the specific goal of enabling women to achieve equal pay with men for work of equal value within and among its member states. This goal builds on the United Nations’ commitment to human rights and against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against women and girls. An ’embedded’ effort This equal pay initiative is also embedded in the United Nations...
‘Slavery Still Exists’ prayers for justice
(Note: The following is the opening prayer from “Slavery Still Exists,” an awareness program sponsored by the Illinois Women Religious Against Human Trafficking. The program took place on Jan. 10-11. Used with permission.) All: God of compassionate love, you listen to the cries of our brothers and sisters whose lives are held bound through the evil of human trafficking in our day. In our prayer and sharing this day, we ask that our ears and hearts be open to the voice...
The Cry of the Poor
...poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” (Laudato Si’ Paragraph 10). A Call The term “eco-justice” addresses this intersection of environmental work and justice living. The Response to the Cry of the Poor document calls us to promote eco-justice as a basic human right for all. To become aware that we are called to defend human life from its beginning to death and to defend all forms of life on Earth. Our response begins with an awareness, an open attentiveness...
Weekly Intentions for Persons who are trafficked
(Note: The following blog was prepared by the Illinois Women Religious Against Human Trafficking (IWRAHT) organization, featuring Sister Barbara Sheehan, SP. This is the first of three blogs this month, in order to raise awareness during Human Trafficking Awareness Month). “Each human being is a free person, and is destined to exist for the good of all. Any relationship that fails to respect this fundamental conviction constitutes a grave crime against humanity. There is now a compelling need to put...
Q and A: The new cosmology: a Providence perspective
...tentative theories of physical evolution held my attention and approval. In college I took a course called cosmology; I shudder now to think of the simplistic presentation of its chapters. Still later, in biblical studies the auxiliary disciplines like history, biblical archaeology and anthropology confirmed my view of slow and lengthy stages of human and non-human development. But my introduction to the work of the late Thomas Berry, CP, and Brian Swimme (and others like them) with its amazing account...
Oral History: Sister Dorothy Gartland
...8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago. ‘Gift of God’ Dorothy’s journey to that court room began on the day she was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was Oct. 29, 1929. Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed, setting off the longest and most severe economic downturn in modern history — the Great Depression — which would last throughout her childhood. Dorothy is the fourth of eight children born to Eugene and Margaret Gartland, ‘Mom’ and ‘Pop’. There...
HOPE winter 2017 — bearing the light in unbearable times
...Mother Theodore Guerin: bearing the light still today “And her story is still very relevant today. She was an immigrant. She came to a foreign land where she didn’t know the language and where there was a lot of prejudice and bias toward Catholics and toward women. There are just so many parallels to what she faced and what she endured that are still around today. She’s a great model and mentor.” Connecting hope and assistance to a community in...
Justice advocates and Providence Associates
...their work for justice has been multifaceted. Racial justice, civil rights, gender equality, LGBT rights, School of Americas, criminal justice reform, animal rights, and environment, including climate change, are only some of the issues addressed. In working for social justice, their strategies model just and nonviolent relationships with persons of very different perspectives. Teaming up with the SPs The Sisters of Providence Justice Coordinating Commission will focus in a special way on climate change. Ben sees this as an essential...