Sister Olga, faithfully writing at 97 years of age
The Sisters of St. Joseph have been friends of Amnesty International for decades. We’ve delighted in the annual visit of its well-known former Secretary General for Canada, Alex Neve, and his workers throughout the last fifteen years. Besides contributing monetary donations, Amnesty’s yearly Write for Rights initiative is an advocacy opportunity we’ve embraced since 2012. This year was no different.
On the appointed December 10th, a group of our senior Sisters armed with pen and paper wrote 140 letters to various leaders throughout the world, pleading for amnesty and justice for their people who have been illegally incarcerated for standing up for human rights and justice in their countries.
140letters~ in the mail!
We read the cases of six specific men and women whose lives have been disrupted due to their support of others whose water, lands, and forests have been devastated and razed by companies seeking to advance their own financial largesse. The fact that our letters matter is evidenced by the success that has resulted for victims through the pressures our writing has exerted on various countries’ leaders.
I sensed a blessing descend upon our home as Sisters wrote impassioned pleas to repressive governments to right the wrongs of advocates unjustly treated for working on behalf of humanity. There is no better way to live these Advent weeks than to raise our voices against injustices. It is a powerful practice in preparing the way of the Lord.
-Sister Jean Moylan
