We, the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa, Sojourners, and Associates, oppose the death penalty and call for its abolition.

 

In furtherance of this position:

• We support legislative and other efforts to abolish the death penalty.

• We support efforts promoting a moratorium of the death penalty and a study of its implementation.

• We support legislative efforts to restrict its application, particularly in cases of minors and persons with intellectual disabilities.

• We oppose legislation to broaden or reinstate the death penalty.

• Recognizing the human agony and suffering involved, we support the families of the victims and of those on death row and their families in their journeys of grief, repentance, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, and/or quest for exoneration.

 

2003

We, the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa, Sojourners, and Associates, oppose the continued maintenance, research, development, and threatened use of the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons. We call on our government to fulfill our commitments to nuclear disarmament as agreed to in the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996.

 

Rationale:

• We believe in the sanctity of every human life and of all creation. Nuclear weapons are a grave danger to all forms of life.

• We choose to work for systemic change on behalf of poor and marginalized persons. The cost and global competition surrounding nuclear weapons keeps individuals and whole societies poor and marginalized. Currently the United States spends an amount equal to nearly half the cost of its Food Stamp Program just to clean up the radioactive waste from new nuclear production and to maintain existing warheads.

• We have committed ourselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and to the promotion of nonviolence in society. Maintaining, rebuilding, and threatening the use of nuclear force make us as Americans a party to intolerable violence.

• We note that sixty years after the nuclear violence perpetuated on Japan, at least eight nations, and perhaps non-national groups as well, possess nuclear weapons. The maintenance and proliferation of nuclear weapons threatens the security of the Earth.

 

Implementation:

• We will bravely publicize this position regardless of the consequences.

• We support efforts to enforce the agreements that our government has made regarding nuclear disarmament.

• We support legislative efforts to eliminate spending on nuclear weapons and to divert those resources to human development.

• We support and will participate in efforts to educate other United States citizens regarding the extensive United States violations of the Non- Proliferation Treaty.

• We support those called to civil disobedience against the tyranny of nuclear armament.

• We support individuals who are called to publicly confront the "nuclear bullying" done in our name.

 

2005

 We, the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa, Sojourners, and Associates, stand in solidarity with our immigrant  brothers and sisters.

 

We support comprehensive Immigration Reform which provides:

• A realistic path to earned legalization for people in the United States without status.

• An effective program for new permanent resident petitioners.

• A plan for addressing applicant backlogs for permanent residency, with family unity as a priority.

• An effective program for temporary workers.

• Restoration of due process protections and reformed detention policies for those detained in the immigration system.

• An effective border policy that is both just and humane

• Enforcement of employment and labor rights for all workers

• Alignment of the enforcement of immigration laws with humanitarian values

 

We also call upon our government to address the root causes of immigration and long-term solutions involving trade policies, international economic aid, debt relief, wage disparities, taxes, and tariffs.

 

Rationale:

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."  - Heb. 13:2

 

". . . we reaffirm our commitment to vulnerable persons who migrate in search of protection or for a better life for themselves and their families."

 

". . . persons on the move should be protected from harm while in transit and welcomed with hospitality, service, and justice."

 

"This view is consistent with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who calls upon all to 'welcome the stranger' and who declared 'for whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me.' - Mt. 25: 35, 40" (from the Statement of the Participants in the Regional Consultation on Migration, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., June 4, 2010)

 

" . . . we celebrate with joy and gratitude the uniqueness of each person by our warmth and hospitality," (from 5. Nature, Spirit, and Purpose, Constitutions, Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa)

 

"We see every person as a visible image of the invisible God and as a brother or sister in Christ. Therefore, we enable people to recognize their particular rights and dignity and to shape their own destinies. We thus move toward a more peaceful world." (from 44. Ministry, Constitutions, Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa)

 

Implementation:

• We will use public forums to speak out on the behalf of our immigrant brothers and sisters.

• We will visibly support our immigrant brothers and sisters.

• We will continue to educate ourselves and others about immigration.

• We will seek to understand facts, as opposed to myths, about immigration.

• We will support and advocate for legislation that will ensure the elements in the above position statement by contacting our legislators and encouraging others to do so.

• We will oppose any proposed federal or state legislation the does not uphold basic human and civil rights.

 

2011

We, the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa, Sojourners, and Associates, oppose all forms of human trafficking  which violate basic human rights and exploit vulnerable people, and we will put forth our efforts to end this heinous practice.

 

Background:

Human Trafficking is defined as the illegal trade of people using force, fraud, or coercion, typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation for commercial gain.

 

We think of slavery as a practice of the past, an image from the Bible, from Roman colonies, and from 18th-century American plantations, but the practice of enslaving human beings as property still exists. Globally, there are approximately 25 million people living as slaves right now – more than at any other time in all of history. This is not some softened, by-modern-standards definition of slavery. These people are living as forced laborers, forced prostitutes, child soldiers, child brides in forced marriages, and, in all ways that matter, as pieces of property, chattel in the servitude of absolute ownership.

 

According to the International Labor Organization, human trafficking is a $32 billion industry, second only to illicit drugs in organized crime. Slavery is not legal anywhere, but it happens everywhere, even in our own backyard. To bring the issue of human trafficking to light, the Franciscan Peace Center’s Anti-Trafficking Committee has been busy educating the Clinton County community about the signs to watch for, the Human Trafficking hotline number to call for help, and what each of us can do to protect our children from becoming enslaved.

 

Rationale:

• We have committed ourselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and to the protection of those most vulnerable.

• All of creation is an outpouring of God's love and creative goodness. All is sacred.

• Because we are all created by one God, we are all brothers and sisters, especially those marginalized by society.

• Given that everything/everybody is sacred and we are all related, peacemaking lies at the heart of our charism. Living in peace is living in right relationship.

 

Implementation: 

• We will pray for all those involved with human trafficking, for the trafficked as well as for the trafficker and buyer.

• We commit to educating ourselves and others about human trafficking in all its forms, i.e. sex, labor, child marriages, etc.

• We will collaborate with others who are working to alleviate this scourge on our society. We will work for systemic change and advocate for legislation and policies that protect those who are at risk; prosecute those who buy, exploit and abuse innocent men, women, and children; and provide funding for rescue and rehabilitation.

• We will use public forums to speak out against exploitation of people everywhere. We will work to address the root causes of human trafficking with an effort to stop the demand and build the self-esteem of those who may be at risk.

• We will join with Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Franciscan Federation, and the United States Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking and other organizations working to end human trafficking

• We will research supply chains of products we purchase and choose our purchases accordingly.

• We will examine our investments and take responsibility for where our money is invested, ensuring that we invest in firms which do not exploit people for personal gain.

 

2015

We, the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa, Sojourners, and Associates, recognize the interdependent web of all  existence and honor the sacredness of all Creation. We acknowledge scientific evidence that climate change is happening and is caused in great part by human activity. We pledge to be faithful stewards of Creation and to work to reduce our impact on the environment (Earth - our Common Home).

 

Rationale:

We have committed ourselves to living and promoting active nonviolence and peacemaking, including toward Earth and all of Creation.

 

"God looked over everything made; it was so good, so very good," (Genesis 1:31)

 

"Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs." (Saint Francis of Assisi, The Canticle of the Creatures)

 

"This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air, and in all forms of life." (Pope Francis, Laudato Sí, 2)

 

"The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life." (Pope Francis, Laudato Sí, 23)

 

"It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane and nitrous oxide." (American Meteorological Society, 2012)

 

"Ecosystems . . . have an intrinsic value independent of their usefulness. Each organism, as a creature of God, is good and admirable in itself." (Pope Francis, Laudato Sí, 140)

 

"Pope Francis calls for an integral ecology that sees the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, political, social, cultural, and ethical issues." (Commentary on Chapter 4: Integral Ecology of Laudato Si by Fr. Thomas Reese, NCR, August 27, 2015.)

 

"To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one family and one Earth community with a common destiny." (Earth Charter, 2000)

 

Implementation:

Corporately and individually, we will

• Pray, contemplate, and reflect together to reconnect with the sacred and the Earth.

• Continue to educate ourselves and others about climate change and sustainability.

• Continue to adopt and promote lifestyle changes to reduce our carbon footprint and move toward a more sustainable way of living.

• Practice and promote the reduction of waste and consumption.

• Work to protect and conserve water and other natural resources.

• Promote sustainable food and agriculture systems, energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

• Use public forums to speak out about Care of Creation.

• Collaborate with other organizations that work toward this mission.

• Monitor our institutional investments and decision making in light of our relationship with Earth.

• Work for systemic change and advocate for legislation and policies that reduce climate change and protect Earth at the local, state, national, and global levels.

 

2019