Our Justice and Peace Ministry

The Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica have long been involved in justice and peace ministry. This ministry was inspired by the passion for justice of the Hebrew prophets as they call us, “to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6,8) Our commitment to justice and peace is also founded on the life and works of Jesus Christ who called us to be “beatitude people.” This ministry is shaped by the social teaching documents of the Church and was lived by all those who went before us to extend the Reign of God in the marketplace.

One of our Vision Statements says, “Our hunger and thirst for justice and peace will focus on the works of charity and our response to the root causes of injustice.” In 2005 we decided that “we would extend compassion to the poor and work to bring about justice and peace.”

We have developed several strategies that will enable us to continue the work begun in the past. We study the structure of the social, economic, political and ecclesial systems to ensure respect for life and human rights.

The present Justice and Peace Network of Mount St. Scholastica believes that each member of the community has an obligation to take up the task of prophetic ministry to confront social injustices, particularly violence and war, and support institutions and structures that promote Gospel values.

Some of our current activities include:

• Sponsor the annual Guilfoil Justice Day.
  Our community has adopted this resolution on Ecological Sustainability, March 2007
• Socially responsible investment policies
• a sponsor of Stop Trafficking: Anti-human trafficking newsletter. Read the latest issue on-line and read the statement from th Benedictine Prioresses below.
• taking corporate stands, (e.g. Stop Human Trafficking)
• holding public peace vigils,
• doing socially responsible investing and offering shareholder resolutions,
• involvement with the national Benedictines for Peace organization
• taking part in the For Whom the Bell Tolls in an effot to end the death penalty in the United States
• responding to Action Alerts on legislative issues
• paying just wages and benefits to our employees,
• networking with others working for the common good,
• educating our community on women’s issues in church and society,
• remaining committed to the poor in Atchison.
  
  Read Sister Anne Shepard's guest editorial in the Atchison Globe, October 4, 2006, about respect for life.
  
  Read Sister Barbara McCracken's Testimony to General Services Administration & Department of Energy on May 23, 2007, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
  
  

  Statement of Corporate Stance on Human Trafficking
  from the Conference of Benedictine Prioresses
  
  Committed to the Benedictine motto of PAX and to personal and social transformation of our culture of fear to a culture of love and right relationship, the membership of the Conference of Benedictine Prioresses, a group of fifty-seven monasteries representing 2620 women religious, denounce the practice of human trafficking and commit to the work of bringing about the elimination of this evil practice.  We invite all who are drawn to this cause to join with us by continuing to learn and to raise the awareness among family, friends and co-workers.