Red leaves on a frosty tree

Stories about

Peace & Justice

As a community dedicated to advocating for the marginalized, we Sisters of Providence join our voices with others in speaking out about many peace and justice issues of great importance in our world. Learn more about justice concerns dear to our hearts here.

Let us put on love

I read somewhere that when Venus — the morning star — first appears, the atmosphere breaks its light into many different colors, like a rainbow. The glory of God is like that —it embraces all of the beautiful rainbow colors of humanity and creation, and we, as God’s people, as lovers of Jesus, celebrate this rainbow of light.

We have to be brave and we have to be vigilant, and shine this Christ-light into the darkness and share our hope with each other and all who fear or despair.

So let us speak, or write, or pray, or feed, or heal, or teach, or visit, or protest, or protect, or report, or show up, or stand up, or stand with, or go to jail, or sing, or serve, or help, or love on, or walk alongside.

Inclusion means joining the conversation

The only way we can bridge that which divides us is through encounter. We must seek ways of listening to understand rather than listening to respond. That is why I chose to stand up publicly for a culture of civility and inclusion at our own Gathering in Solidarity at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods last Saturday. That is why I refused to let one point of disagreement with March organizers exclude me from participating in standing up for the very foundation of society: civil, respectful discourse. Similarly, that is why I participated in calling to task the organizers for excluding others based on one point of disagreement.

Women marching as a sign of hope

The Women’s March on Washington is not one group. It is not one unified effort. Participants are attending despite differences of opinion on specific platform items. Women are coming together to say that their voices deserve to be part of the conversation, that the principles of respect and unity are more important than precise uniformity.

Gathering in solidarity, respect and unity

The principle of solidarity, or recognizing our interdependence with all of creation, has been at the heart of Catholic social teaching for as long as it has existed.
The Women’s March and similar events seek to create spaces where all are welcomed to stand in solidarity with those on the margins of our society. The movement encourages participation by all people who feel marginalized and their allies. It’s a space for all to come together and build a movement to sustain our work for justice into the future.