What can we say about the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, that hasn’t been already said by religious and civil leaders and all people of good will? We are saddened by the display of hatred and bigotry, by the belief of some that any one group of God’s children is better than another, by the needless loss of life and the injury of many. Please join us in praying that this moment will be a turning point in our nation, that we will look into our hearts and choose love over hatred, and that God will comfort and hold close the families who mourn.
We share the statement issued by the Franciscan Action Network as stand united with our sisters and brothers against hatred and bigotry.
https://franciscanaction.org/artic…/we-must-confront-america’s-original-sin
I am proud that we as a community are speaking against this evil. Too many people think the civil rights struggles are part of a past history, resolved in the 1960s. Yes, we marched in Harlem then, yet we must still march onward to government office holders, public communications centers of media and press, and to the leaders in our Church.
Living in New Orleans, we have recently lived this reality of tension during the removal of our four Confederate/white supremacist monuments. Gratefully, and due to committed prayer as a city, we completed the task without bloodshed. Both sides had space to express their opinions and the leadership of our Mayor and Archbishop were outstanding examples of integrity and moral excellence. I am proud to be both a Sister of Charity of New York and a New Orleanian at this critical time in our nation’s history.
Sr. Claire Regan,SC
Thank you for the declaration of solidarity with the Franciscans. St. Francis and Mother Seton had that in common: awareness of and service to the poor in our world and we, as their spiritual descendants, cannot do or be any less!