January-February 2013 Mercy justice highlights published every other month
DID YOU KNOW THIS? Mercy Addresses Gun Violence After Newtown Shootings The shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, CT, have pushed concern about gun violence to the forefront of the nation’s agenda. Indeed, more than 530 Mercy advocates – among the most ever for one legislative action -- contacted their legislators to urge enactment of a federal law that at a minimum bans military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. In addition to joining the chorus for serious gun control legislation, the Sisters of Mercy are calling for more conversation about the culture of violence that pervades communities, national security policies and the entertainment industry. We realize that the Newtown shootings are just the latest in several high-profile mass shootings in the U.S., and that every day children, teens, women and men in inner-city neighborhoods are victims of and witnesses to violence in its many forms. In addition, research from Harvard University found that suicide rates are significantly higher in states with high rates of household gun ownership. Sisters of Mercy and Mercy institutions, responding from our Critical Concern for nonviolence, will continue to work with other faith groups and partner organizations to address the complexity of all these issues. So far: Sister Patricia McDermott, president of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, signed onto a statement of 47 faith leaders that urges legislators to require every person who buys a gun to pass a criminal background check; remove high capacity weapons and ammunition magazines from our streets; and make gun trafficking a federal crime The Institute Justice Team is participating in Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition that is pursuing advocacy on gun violence through a moral lens Presidents of 10 Mercy colleges and universities were among 300 top executives at institutions of higher education in the U.S. who signed a letter to President Obama and members of Congress to support provisions similar to those supported by the faith groups, as well as to oppose allowing guns on campuses and in the classrooms. Sister M. Gratia L’Esperance, as a member of the Interfaith Alliance of Rochester, signed onto a letter to local, state and federal legislators that calls for, at a minimum, bans on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines for ordinary citizens as well as regulation of gun shows. In addition to the shootings in Newtown, the letter references the fatal shooting of two fire fighters in a Rochester suburb You may send a message to your legislators urging her/him to support sensible gun control legislation by clicking here. And watch the Institute website in the weeks to come to learn more about a call-in day Feb. 4 for people of faith to urge Congress to pass gun control measures.
For educational materials on gun violence, consult a list of resources available through the Washington Theological Consortium and consider purchasing the video "Trigger: The Ripple Effects of Gun Violence, " a project of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
EARTH Mercy Health Named a ‘Hero of the Planet’
Mercy Health, the nation’s sixth largest Catholic health system, was named a Hero of the Planet by St. Louis Business Journal this past fall. Particularly noted were the system’s recycling efforts that saved up to $2 million and that kept more than 80,000 pounds of waste from landfills. Also, Mercy St. Louis offers classes on how to raise a “green” baby for new and expecting parents, while Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur has developed a free “store” of “gently used” items donated by employees and offset its carbon footprint by buying $15,000 worth of carbon credits.
Mercy Examines Fossil Fuel Engagements A growing movement led by Bill McKibben of 350.org has garnered national attention by calling on investors to divest, or withdraw their investments, from fossil fuel companies. As a socially responsible investor concerned with care for Earth, Mercy Investment Services has initiated a review of its current advocacy approach with fossil fuel companies. To learn more about Mercy Investment Services' socially responsible investing approach, how it engages fossil fuel companies and its approach to the 350.org campaign, click here.
Peru Trip Highlights Mining Concerns Pat Zerega, director of shareholder advocacy for Mercy Investment Services, recently traveled in a delegation of four Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) members to Cajamarca, Peru, to meet with Newmont Mining and with local stakeholders affected by the company's practices. She had the opportunity to meet several Sisters of Mercy from the Caribbean and Central and South American Community and other Mercy congregations to learn about their concerns with the country’s mining issues.
Climate Change Talks Stir up Concerns, Actions
Sisters Nancy Audette and Mary Pendergast pose in Providence, RI, with Bill McKibben, founder of the climate change organization 350.org, at one of his Do the Math tours this fall. He is speaking around the country about projections for our rapidly warming planet and the disastrous future in store if we don’t get that under control. Sister Kathleen Erickson, a justice coordinator for the West Midwest Community, organized a group to attend a presentation in Omaha and you may read some of their reflections here. Sister Mary, ecology director for the Sisters of Mercy’s Northeast Community, shares her reflections here, and you may find a video she recommends on climate change here.
Mercy Center earns ‘Cool’ Prize Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) awarded Mercy Center in Madison N.J., its top prize in the energy efficiency and conservation category in the 2012 Cool Congregations Challenge. IPL is a national organization that helps religious groups respond to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Mercy Center, a retreat facility on the Long Island Sound, was praised for reusing and recycling building materials during its renovation and for requiring contractors to follow rigorous guidelines for deconstruction, recycling, and integrated waste management. It also was noted for energyefficiency improvements and a composting unit that allows the center to transform kitchen scraps into fertilizer for a greenhouse and garden where food is grown for guests.
IMMIGRATION Urge New Congress to Pass Immigration Reform The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is making sure that the new Congress puts just and humane immigration reform on its agenda this session. Members of the coalition, which include the Sisters of Mercy, signed onto a list of recommendations for the new Congress. Those recommendations include addressing the root causes of immigration, creating a process for undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship, and placing humanitarian values at the center of immigration enforcement policies. Please re-enforce these recommendations with your legislators on Jan. 22, a designated call-in day to Congress for immigration reform. You may find more details here.
DREAMer Video Up for Award Members of the Philadelphia Deferred Action Network havecreated a powerful video about young undocumented immigrants who have been granted a waiver from deportation through an executive action called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In the video, "We Are DACA,” applicants tell their personal stories about coming to the U.S. as children, living as undocumented immigrants, and their dreams for the future. The video has been submitted to the Philly Dogooder awards competition. You may view the video here and vote through Jan. 31 for it to receive an award and cash prize.
Mercys Participate in Migration Advocacy Conference Mercy Associate Cecelia Smaha (at left) and Sister Joan Serda talk with Archbishop of Atlanta Wilton D. Gregory at a conference on migration policy and advocacy. They were among 13 Sisters and Associates who attended the conference, which was co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to further their ministry of standing in solidarity with immigrants. Sister Rosemarie Tresp, justice director for the South Central Community, organized a group of Sisters and associates to attend. You may read the reflections of one of those participants here.
NON-VIOLENCE ‘Nuns at the Gate’ Gather at Fort Benning
Sisters of Mercy joined other women religious in front of the stage before the solemn procession to close the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia, in November. Organizers planned this as a tribute to the Nuns on the Bus effort that has been calling attention to the needs of persons who are poor and vulnerable during federal budget negotiations. This year, in addition to highlighting the human rights abuses committed by graduates of the training facility operated by the U.S. military, organizers of the annual SOA rally pointed out that Fort Benning is a training ground for new unmanned drones, aircraft that fly without human guidance for surveillance purposes and actual bombing of specified targets. You may read more here.
Contact Your Legislators to Support Honduras Delegation The Sisters of Mercy led a delegation to Honduras in December to learn about the social, economic, religious and political realities there and to lend moral support to faith partners, human rights defenders and civil society organizations working with impoverished and marginalized communities. A report on their trip and their recommendations for advocacy with the U.S. government is being prepared and will be available soon on the Institute website. Meanwhile, please join their efforts by calling your U.S. Representative by Friday, Jan. 18 to request that she/he sign onto a letter addressing ongoing human rights violations against Afroindigenous communities in Honduras. You may find more information here.
Pray for Those Executed and Their Victims There were eight state-sponsored executions in November and December of murder. We invite you to pray for those executed, their victims and all of their family members. You will find here a list of those executed and their victims, and the state in which they were executed.
Pennsylvania Advocates Seek Stay of Execution Seventy-one (71) Mercy advocates in Pennsylvania wrote to Gov. Tom Corbett, urging him to issue a stay of execution for Hubert Lester Michael Jr., who had confessed to the kidnapping
and murder of a 16-year-old girl in 1993. Hubert was scheduled to be executed Nov. 8, but a U.S. Appeals Court earlier that day issued a stay of execution for at least 14 days. There was no updates on an execution date as of Jan. 15.
Mercy Companion Learns About Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Mercy Companion Kathy Garbarino traveled to Israel and Palestine with Interfaith Peace Builders (IFPB) in October to personally witness the deep-rooted conflicts and to hear the stories of stakeholders. You may read about her experience here.
Key Moment for Calling for Pentagon Cuts The Sisters of Mercy are participating in a couple of coalitions that are calling for cuts in military spending to be included in upcoming agreements to reduce the federal debt and deficit. New Priorities Network is a coalition of grass-roots peace, human service and labor groups that is urging Congress to “move the money” from the Pentagon to local communities’ needs. In Washington, D.C., faith groups are visiting legislators’ offices with a similar request. Please let your legislators know that you support this message by sending an email through the Friends Committee on National Legislation, one of Mercy’s partners on this issue.
POVERTY Mercy Leader Urges Louisiana to Expand Medicaid Sister Jane Hotstream, president of the Sister of Mercy of the Americas – South Central Community, along with the leaders of 13 other religious congregations serving the people of Louisiana, signed a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal strongly urging him to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income people without health coverage. The letter, which was delivered to the governor’s office by Mercy Sister Padraic Hallaron, pointed out that costs of expansion would be covered by the federal government and that failure to expand Medicaid would “breach the moral duty” to Louisiana’s families in need. The sisters have requested a meeting with the governor to discuss their experiences working with Louisianans directly impacted by this issue. Under a June 2012 ruling of the Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), states are not required to expand Medicaid to include people up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Some governors, including Governor Jindal, indicated they would oppose expansion in their states. This is despite the fact that one in five people in Louisiana, including 124,000 children, lack health insurance.
Financial Tax Seen as Funding Source for Human Needs The Sisters of Mercy have joined other faith groups and advocacy and human service organizations in calling for a tiny financial transaction tax that could generate billions of dollars for healthcare, education, housing, nutrition programs, climate change mitigation and assistance to the most impoverished nations. This tax would have little or no impact on the vast majority of investors and would primarily impact the high volume trading that has been destabilizing to the world economy. You may read more here.
Fiscal Cliff Advocacy Has Mixed Success Hundreds of sisters, associates, co-workers, students and volunteers contacted their legislators in the final months of 2012, calling on Congress to reduce the federal deficit and debt without cutting programs vital to persons who are poor and vulnerable. Congress managed to avoid the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1 by passing legislation just days before that raised income tax rates on the
top 2% of Americans and let the payroll tax holiday expire for all taxpayers. Congress postponed decisions on spending cuts until March 1. Coalitions that the Sisters of Mercy belong to are expected to call for more revenue to be part of the next deficit agreement, and for Pentagon funding to take some of the brunt of any spending cuts. You may read here Bread for the World’s analysis of the “fiscal cliff” deal.
Sister Raises Funds for Haiti Mission
Sister Anne Fitzgerald, at right, raised $800 through a monthly food sale at St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence in Portland, Maine, to support the Sisters of Mercy’s new ministry in Haiti. The money will go to the food programs for the children in Haiti, as well as to Kay Pov, the poor house for abandoned elderly. She shares her inspiration for this project here.
Service Remembers Persons Who Were Homeless As the first day of winter approached, Mercy sisters and associates joined others from the Philadelphia area in City Center for a service of remembrance, hope and healing for people who were homeless and formerly homeless and died in 2012. The service also called for an end to homelessness. The occasion was a call on people everywhere to commit themselves to ending homelessness through just public policies that ensure a social safety net and meaningful economic opportunities for all Americans. ____________________________________________________________________________
RACISM
Sisters of Mercy to Receive MLK Award The Sisters of Mercy of the Northeast Community in New Hampshire will be honored at the 31st Annual Martin Luther King Day Community Celebration in Manchester, on January 21, They were chosen by the MLK Committee for their years of outstanding work for social justice. Sister May Cronin will accept the award on behalf of the community, and the sisters have prepared a video that includes some history of the community, events in which they have participated, ways they nurture their spirit in order to stay in the struggle, and emphasis on the critical concerns. The sisters will also express their gratitude to all the New Hampshire organizations with similar goals that have provided a strong network of collaboration through the years. ____________________________________________________________________________
WOMEN Pennsylvania Sisters Succeed with Trafficking Law The Philadelphia Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition successfully advocated for passage of the Human Trafficking Hotline Bill by the state legislature. This requires that the Human Trafficking Hotline phone number be placed prominently in certain establishments and locations in an effort to curb the incidents of human trafficking in Pennsylvania and to help victims. Governor Tom Corbett signed the bill into law on December 23, 2012. Mercy sisters and associates in the area also participated in a three-hour presentation on human trafficking with representatives of the Polaris Project, a leading organization in the international fight against human trafficking. Representatives provided a comprehensive overview of current legislation regarding antitrafficking laws and highlighted the need to educate healthcare professions.
Mercy Marks Trafficking Awareness Day
Sgt. Lance Miller of the Marion, Iowa, Police Department talked about human trafficking with students, faculty and staff at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids to mark Human Trafficking Awareness Day Jan. 11. Sister Emily Devine arranged for the presentation. Other Sisters joined in prayer in an area of Detroit known for prostitution, while still others participated
in the Weekend of Prayer to End Slavery and Trafficking Jan. 11-13. In other work around human trafficking, Sisters of Mercy in Vermont and Rhode Island are urging their senators to reintroduce bills that reauthorize federal anti-human trafficking legislation and Sister Ana Maria Siufi in Argentina tells of protests erupting over the acquittals of 13 defendants in a major human trafficking case. You can participate in heightening awareness of the many facets of human trafficking by advocating for child prostitutes, who too often are treated more like criminals than as victims of a domestic form of trafficking. You may sign a petition here to call for more state “safe harbor” laws that provide protection and support for these young victims rather than jail time.
Issue of Stop Human Trafficking newsletter available The January issue of Stop Trafficking, a ministry that the Sisters of Mercy supports, provides highlights from a United Nations report on human trafficking as well as an article on the role of technology in trafficking and a chart of primary sex trafficking networks in the United States.
Congress Fails to Reauthorize Domestic Violence Legislation Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act before recessing for the session in late 2012. The Sisters of Mercy had joined other advocates for women in calling on Congress to reauthorize this important piece of legislation that provides protections and supports for women who have experienced battering, sexual assault or stalking. The Sisters of Mercy supported Senate legislation that included new protections for lesbians, Native Americans and undocumented immigrants. The House passed a bill that exempts those groups from protections. While domestic violence services aren’t threated due to this failure to pass legislation, upcoming budget cuts may have a big impact. We will alert you when your advocacy is needed as legislation is introduced and negotiated in the new Congress. ___________________________________________________________________________
OTHER CRITICAL CONCERNS ENGAGEMENT Mercy Taking Action to Introduce Resources in February Mercy Taking Action -- an initiative being developed to further the Awakening the Dreamer goals of environmental sustainability, spiritual fulfillment and social justice -- will introduce its first resource during the Extended Justice Team meeting in late February. The short “Cost of Convenience” educational module invites participants to consider the impact of the disposable society so prevalent in the U.S. and to find alternatives for ourselves, our communities, our workplaces and our places of worship. After the meeting, it will be available for widespread use throughout the Institute. A Mercy Taking Action retreat and a small-group process for considering changes in institutional practices and policies will each be introduced later this year. Please contact Marianne Comfort for more information at mcomfort@sistersofmercy.org or 301587-0423 ext. 2243.
Anniversary of Vatican II Celebrated The Catholic Coalition for Justice and Peace, a group of 25 religious congregations of men and
women in the Philadelphia area that includes the Sisters of Mercy’s Mid-Atlantic Community, is offering a series entitled” “Celebrating 50 Years of Vatican II.” On January 10, St. Joseph Sister Carol Zinn, president elect of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, spoke on the “Spirituality of the Church in the Modern World.” More than 130 people gathered to listen, reflect and share on this important topic. Associates from many religious communities, as well as justice committees from parishes joined, with priests, sisters and laity for an evening of hope and promise.
Senior Sisters Get into Spirit of Birth 2012
Birth 2012 -- a symbolic birthing Dec. 21 of a new era that is healthy, sustainable and peaceful – was organized as an alternative to the end-of-the-world anxiety surrounding the conclusion of the Mayan calendar. Among the sisters participating has been Sister Barbara Moran, who met monthly with the Senior Women's Book Group in Burlingame, California, from September through January to read and discuss the book by Barbara Marx Hubbard that gave its name to this movement. They also watched the author’s videos and signed on to the pledge for loving kindness in December. “We have agreed to reach out to friends and family who fear change in our nation and our Church, and to help others find positive trends and activities in our world today. Since we are all 80-plus, night driving is difficult, so we gather by day to grow in awareness of conscious evolution and use reading and the Internet to find like-minded communities reborn as 2012 has drawn to a close. “
SAVE THE DATES The Institute Justice Team invites sisters, associates, students and co-workers to several events in 2013. We plan at each event to create a space for Mercy advocates to reflect on the experience and to discuss how we move forward in our response to the Critical Concerns. Please consider joining us at: Forward on Climate Rally at noon Sunday, Feb. 17, in Washington, D.C., in what is hoped to be the largest climate rally in history. Tens of thousands of people are expected to participate in urging President Obama to start his second term with strong climate action by preventing the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Ecumenical Advocacy Days’ conference on food justice April 5-8 in Washington, D.C. Main speakers and workshops will focus on such topics as the costs of the U.S. and global food system to the environment, to farm and food chain workers, and to the producers themselves; the long-term effects of corporate agribusiness, over-reliance on chemical inputs, genetically modified single crop farms, misplaced subsidies in the U.S. Farm Bill, and massive food exports into fragile farming communities. The weekend concludes with visits to members of Congress to advocate on a pre-determined food justice issue
SOA Watch’s Action Days in Washington, D.C., April 8-10, to call on Congress to close the School of the Americas (now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). SOA Watch’s Rally and Vigil at Fort Benning, GA, Nov. 22-24, 2013.
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Chasing Ice is a beautiful yet devastating film that clearly portrays the melting of glaciers in key areas of the world. Mid-Atlantic Justice Coordinator Sister Diane Guerin shares a reflection on the documentary here. Shift Change is a fascinating look at cooperatives, also known as employee-owned enterprises, from the birth of the movement in the Mondragon region of Spain through the experiences of variations on the theme in cities around the U.S. This concept, which has the potential for transforming an economic system that clearly isn’t working for many people, is being explored by Faith, Economy, Ecology, Transformation , a loose coalition of mostly faith-based organizations and individuals, including the Sisters of Mercy. Institute Justice Team member Marianne Comfort shares her reflections of the film here.
__________________________________________________________________ Updated Mercy Advocacy Information Available You can find the most up-to-date advocacy campaigns and links to current issues Mercy is addressing here. ____________________________________________________________________________
Please Tell us How You are Addressing the Critical Concerns We welcome all news items and photos for the every-other-month Justice Highlights. Please send them to mcomfort@sistersofmercy.org.