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“As CSA, our promise has, from the start, been to follow and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have done so through teaching, care of the sick, the aged, orphans, and wayfarers. As global realities have become increasingly apparent, so also has our awareness been heightened to issues regarding the dignity of persons, human rights, and justice; the need for structural change; efforts at ‘simplicity of life’ and a greater appreciation of the gifts of creation. The concerns that we pray about and the causes that we pray for have grown. 

“That is not enough. We must use all the power we have, first in areas where we have direct impact, through the services we ourselves provide or through our sponsored ministries, then through wise use of our power as shareholders in significant corporations and membership in significant organizations with a social justice agenda. After appropriate study and discussion, we can make public statements of our convictions in areas of major or global importance and concern. These statements, our corporate stance, help create the positive pressure that can lead to a more just society.” - CSA Policy on Corporate Stances
 

Statement of Mission

We, the Sisters of St. Agnes, participate in the mission of Christ by joyful service in the Church, always aware that we, too, are among the needy and are enriched by those we serve.

Inspired by our founders--by the missionary zeal of Father Caspar Rehrl, the courageous initiatives of Mother Agnes Hazotte and the spiritual influence of Father Francis Haas--we continue to respond in our own times to those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened.

Rooted in Christ through prayer and worship we serve in both rural and urban settings throughout the United States and in Latin America.

We strive to minister with simplicity and hospitality in the fields of education, health care, pastoral ministry and social service.

We are committed to transformation of the world, the Church and ourselves through promoting

  • systemic change for the quality of life
  • justice for the economically poor
  • furtherance of the role of women in church and society
  • mutuality, inclusivity and collaboration.

Love binds us together, and by sharing our lives and our faith in community, we support one another to live with singleness of purpose: that among us and in our world the Risen Christ be discovered and revealed.

1990

Corporate Stance on Anti-Racism

Reaffirming our commitment to those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened in any way, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) opposes racism in all forms, encourages education, and supports actions to eliminate racism, bringing understanding of our complicity, prejudice, bias, and privilege to the forefront.


Adopted by the Congregation February 12, 2024

Corporate Stance on Care for Earth

In light of the growing impact of climate change on the global community, we, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, honoring our interdependence with all of God's creation and in a spirit of nonviolence, personally and communally renew and recommit to care for Earth, home of all living creatures.

We commit to actions that:

  • Flow from a spirituality of integral ecology (Laudato Si’ – Chapter 4) that expresses interconnections among environmental, economic, scientific, social and cultural systems,
  • Respect Earth and the interdependence of all life,
  • Consume less of Earth’s nonrenewable resources through the six R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and restore,
  • Educate ourselves and others about the equitable development of renewable, cleaner energy sources in order to
    • mitigate the impact of climate change and
    • enable the most vulnerable to adapt to climate change
  • Promote a low-carbon economy especially in Nicaragua and the USA where we serve,
  • Cooperate with governmental and non-governmental organizations that are committed to care for Earth.

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Corporate Stance
Developed by the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee
Adopted by the Congregation May 31, 2016
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on November 11, 2020

Statement on Women

We, the Sisters of St. Agnes, commit ourselves to furthering the role of women in church and society. Our deep and vital union with God calls us to discern our distinct contribution as a community of women religious to the ongoing transformation of the world. We recognize the reality of oppression in the lives of women and the effect of that oppression on the dignity and rights of all people.

We commit ourselves, therefore, to work for justice and reconciliation endeavoring to:

  • cultivate an inclusive spirituality which empowers both women and men
  • promote educational opportunities which liberate women
  • network to transform existing structures in church and society which oppress women.

Corporate Responses

Cultivating Inclusive Spirituality
Engage with colleagues in the process of theological reflection, recognizing our human experience as the starting point of reflection.
Use inclusive language and imagery in songs, prayer forms and worship in our community gatherings and those public gatherings sponsored by CSA.

Promoting Educational Opportunities
Search out existing resources and design, for use at the local level, a model of adult education for women which enhances personal strengths and skills, and enables women to pursue further education of their choice.

Networking to Transform Structures
Come together on local settings with women of various backgrounds and experiences to share problems and struggles, and to use our mutual strengths to develop alternatives and find resources. By networking in this manner, CSA members and other women can confront their prejudices, build solidarity, and empower each other to change oppressive structures.

Developed by CSA Women Committee 2
Adopted July 13, 1989
Revised/Reissued 2007
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on April 13, 2021

 

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Corporate Stance on Human Trafficking

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes stands in solidarity with the victims of human trafficking and takes a corporate stance against the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation.

Corporate Stance
Adopted by the Congregation on the Feast of St. Agnes, January 21, 2007
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on November 11, 2020

Corporate Stance on the Death Penalty

CSA goes on record as being opposed to the death penalty.

Approved by CSA in November 2006
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on February 2, 2021


Based on several sources, the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Ministry produces a list of names and addresses of inmates to be executed every month. Members of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee (JPIC) write them a letter and pray for them and their victims. On the day of their execution, a candle is lit and their name is mentioned in the liturgy. For a current list of names and addresses of inmates, please download the latest schedule.

Statement of Belief on Peace & Nonviolence

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes released the following statement January 20, 2002, to coincide with the feast of our patroness, St. Agnes, and the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., and his commitment to nonviolence. In it, we wish to share who we are and what we believe.

  • We are women committed to living the gospel values of love and forgiveness. 
  • We are women committed to being peacemakers. 
  • We are women who have lost three of our members to acts of violence in Nicaragua, yet remain committed to nonviolence.
  • We are women who believe, as citizens of a democracy, that it is our responsibility to add our voice to the public discourse. 
  • We are women who protest our government's training of terrorists and have demonstrated and advocated for closing of the School of the Americas now known as Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). 
  • We are women who believe we are called to treat all people with value and dignity.
  • We are women who pray for our country, our leaders and for all the victims of terrorism and their families. 
  • We are women who pray for our enemies and seek deeper understanding of the struggles that generate enmity.
  • We are women who believe the United States needs to assess those foreign, economic and ecological policies that continue to widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor. 
  • We are women who believe our nation spends too much on making war possible and far too little on creating and empowering just societies in the world.
  • We are women who strive to hear the cry of the poor and respond globally, nationally and locally with our presence and our resources. 
  • We are women who are committed to the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church and engage in legislative advocacy to promote the common good. 
  • We are women who embrace diversity of race, gender, religion, culture and work to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, both locally and globally. 
  • We are women who join with people of goodwill to pray for peace and to become peacemakers.

Released by CSA on January 20, 2002
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on February 2, 2021

Corporate Stance on Nuclear-Free Zone

As Co-Creators in our world, we believe that nuclear arms are destructive of life in all forms and contrary to the Gospel message. Be it resolved that we, the Congregation of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,

  1. Declare the Motherhouse property of 475 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to be a nuclear free zone, within which no nuclear weapons or any component thereof shall be researched, designed, produced, tested, stored, disposed or permitted in any fashion;
  2. Declare to the United States Government that we do not want such property defended by the threat or use of nuclear weapons;
  3. Will not invest in or promote companies which derive a significant income from nuclear weapons production;
  4. Invite others to take similar actions in their communities and municipalities.

Announced by General Council after Congregational Referendum
April 10, 1989
Affirmed by the CSA USA Associate Community on April 13, 2021

CSA Land Acknowledgment

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes acknowledges our Motherhouse is located on land that is a gift of the Creator. Nestled along the Niagara Escarpment, near the southeast shore of Lake Winnebago in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, this sacred land is the ancestral homeland of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Menominee, Myaamia, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and many indigenous groups of North America who have passed through or called Wisconsin their home at some point in the last three centuries. 

The Sisters of St. Agnes recognize the historical and ongoing realities of settler colonialism. We lament the violence, genocide, broken treaties, efforts to strip our brothers and sisters of their culture and language, and the forced removal of all indigenous peoples from these sacred lands. We acknowledge the First Nations communities who have stewarded this land throughout generations. We respect their past and present elders and continue to learn from their wisdom. We are grateful to pray, study, minister, and live in community on this holy ground. We commit to being good stewards of the land, to showing special care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions, and to collaborating with First Nation People today on issues that impact our common home, and the common good. 

“All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”

-Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (#14)

The Leadership Team of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes

Sister Jean Steffes, General Superior
Sister Rhea Emmer, General Vicar
Sister Susan Seeby, General Councilor
Sister Cyndi Nienhaus, General Councilor

2022 Chapter Statement

We, the Sisters of St. Agnes,
embrace our transformative journey with an expanding cosmological awareness.
We respond to the needs of God’s creation with

Contemplative Hearts
grounded in God who calls us to love

Compassionate Hearts
responding to ecological, ecclesial, societal, and global challenges

Courageous Hearts
exercising moral authority on behalf of creation,
especially those whose faith life or human dignity is threatened

Caring Hearts
valuing presence and mutual relationships
as a way of life

 

This journey calls us to…
Dedicate ourselves to the common good of all creation
Reverence Earth, our common home
Strengthen the bond that unites us
Explore our unfolding future

Click here for a PDF

Capitulo 2022

Nosotras, las Hermanas de Santa Inés,
acogemos nuestro viaje de transformación con una creciente conciencia de la cosmología. Respondemos a las necesidades de la creación de Dios con

Corazones Contemplativos
que arraigados en Dios nos llaman a amar

Corazones Compasivos
que responden a los desafíos ecológicos, eclesiales, sociales y globales

Corazones Valientes
que ejercen su autoridad moral en nombre de la creación, especialmente las personas cuyas vidas de fe o dignidad humana
están amenazadas

Corazones Bondadosos
que valoran la presencia y las relaciones mutuas como forma de vida

 

Este viaje nos llama a…
Fomentar el bien común de toda la creación
Reverenciar la Tierra, nuestra casa común
Fortalecer el lazo que nos une
Explorar nuestro futuro en desarrollo

Click here for a PDF

 

Invitation Only