Some years ago, at a union convention, I was drawn to a particular T-shirt which was being presented for sale. It wasn’t the usual type of offering. The graphic on it seemed to have a deeper meaning beyond what is frequently imprinted on union garb; no logo, no strident union message. What I saw was a depiction of ordinary people, of all ages and abilities relating with one another with the statement “WE ARE WHO WE STAND WITH”. “Yes”, I thought, “this is the essential meaning behind the union movement. We have to represent the ‘ordinary folks’ who struggle”. I bought the shirt.
Fast forward to August 2014 and the recent Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) Assembly in Nashville, Tennessee ...
I have been following this conference with great interest given the ongoing investigation of the LCWR by the Vatican’s ‘Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith’. What I have been reading is a tremendous affirmation of the journey of American women religious communities since Vatican II. This, I would suggest, is mirrored in Canada. Women religious have been true to what was asked of them.
Originally, in North America, women religious provided health care and education, founding many hospitals and education systems, and yes they looked after the orphans and the elderly. Today, however, what they continue to do is to identify current collective needs and then work toward making change happen. You see, these religious women do great work and then step aside as society catches up with them! They engage on the leading edges of emerging concerns, always looking for the “needs of the new margin dwellers.” (Nancy Scheck, OSF)
Who are the people /issues that women religious are standing with now? As Nancy Scheck said at the Assembly, this has happened and is continuing to happen, “from racism to climate change, from trafficking to the nuclear threat, from the concerns of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community to global economics, women's equality and violence, ethics in health care, issues of abortion and the death penalty, drones, immigration and peacemaking.”
Has this ‘prophetic stance’ come at a cost? Yes! As stated by Sr. Miriam Ambrosio CRB, in terms of women’s religious life, it is “the awareness of our "non-place" in society and in the church. Religious belong on the margins, with other marginated people”.
Because sisters have gone to the ‘edges’ and supported the ‘marginalized’ they are ‘counter-cultural’, perhaps even in terms of the institutional church. They truly live the slogan,” WE ARE WHO WE STAND WITH”! Would not Jesus not have agreed?
Please take the opportunity to access all of the wonderful addresses given at the LCWR 2014 Assembly, as well as a great video at https://lcwr.org/calendar/lcwr-assembly-2014 .
Ann Steadman, CSJ Associate