Justice Alerts

BVM Congregation affirms support for comprehensive immigration reform

BVMs have long supported this justice issue, individually and through the BVM Social Justice Network. Many sisters have ministered with undocumented immigrants, especially following the Postville (IA) raid  in May, 2008. Speaking for the congregation, "We the members of the 2010 Senate of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary do proclaim and affirm our commitment to comprehnsive immigration reform." 

Catholics Confront Global Poverty

Catholics Confront Global Poverty is a joint effort of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services. Currently they are asking people to contact their Representative in Congress, to urge co-sponsorship of HR 1588. This bill supports implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement. 

From the website:

Take Action Now! Contact your Representative now and urge him/her to co-sponsor the bipartisan House Resolution 1588 that supports full implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement and efforts to promote peace and stability in Sudan.

Why is action important now? Sudan is at a crossroads.  The volatile situation in the country – not just in the Darfur region, but also the tenuous peace between northern and southern Sudan brought about by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) – is becoming more serious.  The country is bracing for a referendum early next year when southern Sudan will decide if it will secede from the north.  The potential for increased violence, death, and displacement as a result of renewed war is real.  Significant steps must be taken to avert such a disaster.

Churches for Middle East Peace

CMEP reports that negotiations among the United States, the Israelis and the Palestinians continue, in hopes of resuming direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. The latter two need a framework under which to negotiate, but there remains the continuing problem of Israeli expansionism in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

DREAM Act

The following excerpt comes from a longer letter to Congress, encouraging lawmakers to pass a bill which many Americans support. Numerous national and state organizations have signed on to the letter.

"Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools. These students, raised as Americans, deserve a chance to become legal residents of the country where they grew up.

 The DREAM Act will provide a path to legal status for individuals brought to the U.S. as children. Under the DREAM Act, most students with good moral character who came to the U.S. at age 15 or younger and have lived in the U.S. for at least five years before the date of the bill’s enactment would qualify for conditional permanent resident status upon acceptance to college, graduation from a U.S. high school, or being awarded a GED in the U.S. The conditional status will be lifted if the student completes at least two years of college or serve in the military."

Action alerts from several sources often request adding the signature of organizations or individuals to a letter or a petition going to the President or Congress. NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby in Washington and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) regularly send updates on current issues. The BVM Leadership Team frequently signs on as Leadership Team, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Some recent issues which the BVM Leadership Team has endorsed include extending unemployment compensation for those who have lost jobs in the current economy,   pursuing comprehensive immigration reform,  urging Israelis and Palestinians to continue the work toward peace and justice in the Middle East.

At the same time, alerts go to the BVM distribution list which includes all sisters and associates, providing everyone with information about adding individual signatures. Usually this is done quickly and easily via email at various websites, and in some instances by phone call to senators and representatives.

Whether the responses come from leadership or from  individuals, they are specific ways of taking action on political issues that affect the lives and wellbeing of many people on local, national and international levels. 

In a July 1 speech, President Obama reiterated his hope to deal with comprehensive immigration reform, that will both lessen illegal entry and open the possibility for legal immigration. BVMs continue to support and work toward this goal.

Death sentence numbers diminish

According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, "a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center shows that death sentences in the U.S. hit an all-time low in 2009. In addition, nine people were exonerated from death row in 2009, the second highest number of exonerations since reinstatement of capital punishment over 30 years ago. Law enforcement officials point to the death penalty as the least effective tool in their arsenal."

In solidarity with a national initiative among religious organizations, For Whom the Bells Toll, each date of a scheduled execution, the bell from the Old BVM Motherhouse at St. Joseph Prairie in Dubuque is tolled.  The BVM community email distribution list carries the name(s) and state(s) of the condemned. From time to time, someone will raise the question, “Why are we remembering only the ones condemned? What about the victims?”

The bell or the email marking an execution day calls us to remember in prayer ALL involved—the victim, the victim’s family, the one condemned, the family of the one condemned.  All have suffered; the families of the victims and the families of those executed continue to suffer the result of violent actions.

The BVM Congregation has taken a corporate stance against the death penalty.