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Catholic Sisters Bring Awareness, Urge Action on Social Issues

March 08, 2023
By CSA Sisters of St. Agnes

Catholic Sisters across the state of Wisconsin are taking to the airwaves and internet during March to bring awareness and call for action to stop racism, forced migration, and climate change. These constructive, nuanced conversations exploring the intersectionality of these three social justice issues will be released on upcoming podcasts and posted to websites that will feature Sisters who have a wide range of experience and knowledge in advocating and working for change around these topics.

  • Sister Rose Jochmann, OSF, and Sister Sally Ann Brickner, OSF, will share with Earthbeat reporter Brian Roewe how Catholic Sisters in Wisconsin are working to end racism, forced migration, and climate change throughout the state. Sister Rose is a longtime advocate of sustainability efforts and was instrumental in integrating dozens of energy-saving measures to her community’s 2006 convent in Green Bay. Sister Sally Ann is the former director of St. Norbert College’s Peace and Justice Center to which she made significant contributions to its formation. Read more at https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat.
  • The March 10 “A Nun’s Life” podcast will feature Sister Margaret Kruse, OSF, of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. Sister Margaret discusses her involvement with Sisters Program South, a program in Milwaukee that helps women involved in human trafficking get their lives back on track through a harm-reduction and housing-first approach. Sister Margaret talks about the vulnerability of these individuals seeking help, and the combined efforts of various religious organizations who have partnered in support of the program. Listen at https://anunslife.org/podcasts (under In Good Faith podcast).
  • NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and U.S. Catholic Magazine’s Just Politics podcast features Sister Maureen Jerkowski, SSSF, and her immigration advocacy work. She has ministered for nearly 20 years on the southern border. Since 2017, she has ministered in Des Plaines, IL, with unaccompanied, undocumented minors awaiting placement. She shares perspectives on forced migration and racism. Sister Mary Catherine Rice, OP, is also featured as she recently returned from the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada. and is promoting Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ Action Platform. Brenna Davis from the Ignatian Solidarity Network is also featured. Listen at https://uscatholic.org/justpolitics/ under the title “Ten years of an eco-pope.”
  • Sister Lucy Slinger, FSPA, was recently featured online in her article titled “Deep Dive into the Intersectionality of Racism, Forced Migration, and Climate Crisis: Head, Heart, and Soul Knowing. She writes, “only when new ways of knowing are found can the profound systemic changes needed happen.” Read more at https://lcwr.org/resources/publications/fall-2022.  
  • The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes (CSA) announces a new justice-focused newsletter called Bending the Arc. The title references a quote by Rev. Dr. King who said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This twice-monthly digital newsletter from the CSA Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Office showcases the work of changemakers, opportunities to learn, and opportunities for you to help “bend the arc” toward justice. Read more at www.csasisters.org/news.
  • The Racine Dominican Sisters were recently featured by the Dominican Life website at https://domlife.org/2023/02/26/becoming-crew/ as they gather weekly as the “Becoming Crew” to take action on a social justice issue. To date, they have welcomed Afghanistan refugees arriving in Wisconsin, organized a winter clothing drive to provide warm clothes to families in need, and created a brochure about ways to contribute to a healthier environment.   

This statewide effort to bring awareness to the social justice issues of racism, immigration, and climate change and their intersectionality during Catholic Sisters Week March 8–14 was called forth by the Wisconsin region’s Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Congregations participating in the awareness effort include the School Sisters of St. Francis, Milwaukee; Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Francis; Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross, Green Bay; Sisters of St. Agnes, Fond du Lac; Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa; Dominican Sisters of Racine; and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, LaCrosse. For more information, visit our Wisconsin Catholic Sisters Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wiscs

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