Justice Seekers

By Erin Reder

S. Jean Miller is no stranger to political rallies and protests. Through the years she can’t begin to count the number of times she has attended a demonstration on behalf of a particular issue she is passionate about. “Wherever the cause is!” she says. So back in December when she heard NETWORK was planning a rally in Washington, D.C. related to the safety of migrants at the border, she was compelled to act.

“Title 42 is related to my ministry,” S. Jean explains. “My experience with immigrants is long and deeply important to me. I lived in their countries, learned their culture, was awakened by their wisdom, grieved with them over their poverty and imposed violence. I have worked with them at the border and gone to the border when rushes are coming in.” S. Jean passionately believes in respecting all human rights, including migrants’ rights to come to this country. In her volunteer work with Ohio Nuns on the Bus, she learned more about Title 42, a Trump-era rule inhumanely used to turn away migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border, and saw it as a violation of human rights that needed to be brought to the forefront. NETWORK’s planned rally felt like the perfect way to express her opposition to the president and ask for change.

As she began to plan her participation, S. Jean thought back to 2018 when she and a few Community members took part in a Catholic Day of Action to stand in solidarity with immigrant sisters and brothers. On that particular occasion, she was invited by Sisters Andrea Koverman and Tracy Kemme to participate and also risk arrest. While this time arrest was not a possibility, she remembered those two Sisters who had previously invited her and thought maybe they would return the favor. “So I called Sisters Tracy and Andrea and said ‘you called me two years ago and now I’m calling you, will you go with me?’” she recalled.

“When our S. Jean Miller, a justice seeker for many decades, invited me directly to go with her, the decision was clear,” says S. Tracy. “Working for justice is a central part of our Catholic faith and of our vowed life as Sisters of Charity. Our congregational mission proclaims: ‘Urged by the love of Christ ... we choose to act justly.’ Title 42 and similar policies threaten the sanctity of life, contrary to the Church’s social teachings.”

Added S. Andrea, “It was a way to draw focused attention on a specific aspect of national immigration policy that many citizens do not really understand and that is the cause of incredible human suffering along the southern border. I have the benefit, if you can call it that, of having firsthand experiences and witnessing with my own eyes some of what is happening to people, even though working with migrants is not my primary ministry. I feel a responsibility for sharing that with people who can’t see for themselves what is going on.”

Joining them were more than 80 Catholic Sisters and advocacy partners, including Sisters of Charity Mary Gallagher, Lois Jean Goettke, Louise Lears, Caroljean Willie and Associate Chess Campbell, an activist and longtime friend of S. Jean. Their objective: to express opposition to Title 42 due to its cruelty and ineffectiveness.

S. Tracy elaborates: “In November, at my Cincinnati parish, I met a Mexican family who had recently arrived from the U.S./Mexico border. After escaping a dangerous situation in their hometown and making the arduous journey to the border to seek asylum, they were forced to wait in Juarez, Mexico, living in a tent village for four months. They have four children. As the mother told me their story, she broke down and wept in my arms. This is the impact of inhumane border policies like Title 42.”

(From left) Associate Chess Campbell, S. Jean Miller and S. Louise Lears felt called to bring their concerns to the forefront and to President Biden.

(From left) S. Mary Gallagher, Associate Chess Campbell, S. Jean Miller, S. Louise Lears, S. Tracy Kemme, S. Lois Jean Goettke, S. Caroljean Willie and S. Andrea Koverman attended the Title 42 rally in Washington, D.C. in December on behalf of the SC congregation.

S. Mary Gallagher also attended and said, “I felt an urgency to ‘put my whole self in’ and to speak in unison with many others about the injustices and oppression faced by our brothers and sisters at the border.” She added that it’s important to speak up otherwise the issue remains low on the priority list. “Persons listen more when the conversation involves those whom they know or are acquainted with. The president is always attentive to those who put him in office. He must know what is on the mind of those who support him.”

The rally took place on Dec. 3, 2021, and the energy and atmosphere filled with joy and hope. Says S. Tracy, “There is a sense of holy power generated when people come together to speak truth to power in the name of justice and liberation. It was a gift to stand with my Sisters and, even more so, with the brave activists from different communities whose lives have been directly impacted by the policies we protested. I was also aware of my privilege, as a white U.S. citizen gathered with many other white, U.S. citizen Sisters, that I could fly to D.C. for this action and fly home again to resume ‘normal’ life. There is no fear of repercussions for speaking out, and there is no required follow-up. I pray that we continue to live out the justice we demand through our daily lives and ministries, standing behind and beside those for whom seeking justice is not an optional activity but life or death.”

S. Andrea added, “I don’t think anyone expected that we would have an immediate impact on national policy, but being gathered with a broad representation of Sisters from many congregations, NETWORK staff and people giving personal testimony of their journey as migrants was powerful and energizing. It reminds you that though it sometimes feels like we’re up against great odds, that we are not alone in pursuing a just and humane immigration system.”

S. Jean says that it’s something deep within that calls her to continue participating in rallies and protests and bringing these issues to the forefront. And while she says that her participation outside the Cincinnati area is probably coming to an end, she is thrilled to see the Community’s passion for justice continue with its newer members. “Young people come to religious life now because of justice,” she says. “We are in a very important part of history; something new is going to come out of the crisis we are currently living through. They are going to be a part of it and it’s going to have to be very creative.”

Excerpt from S. Andrea Koverman’s December 3 remarks to President Biden

“I could share many more stories, but what I want most to say to President Biden and all of you today is that we know that things do not have to be this way. This is a conscious choice we are making as a nation. I personally don’t know of anyone who advocates for a complete dismantling of the immigration system and that is not what we are asking for. Nationally recognized immigration expert Ruben Garcia, who has been assisting migrants at the El Paso border for more than 40 years, explained that humane and proven alternatives already exist that could be put in place, alternatives that would afford migrants due process while being treated the way all God’s children should be treated: with respect, compassion and justice. My Advent prayer is that we don’t just wait for the Light of the World to come but that we make the choice to help it shine brightly by the way we address our migrating sisters and brothers.

S. Andrea Koverman (right) gave remarks to the crowd gathered outside the White House on Dec. 3, 2021, demonstrating their opposition to Title 42.