Peace and Justice

The Peace and Justice Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, Michigan, works with members and associates to provide information and respond to local, national and global peace and justice issues in keeping with:

• our Mission and Vision statement, "that all may be one."
• our commitment to Gospel values witnessed in the life and mission of Jesus
• the initiatives and resolutions of the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
• the social teachings of the Catholic Church

As a ministry of the congregation, this office coordinates our communal voice and gives expression to that voice through our presence and participation in national and statewide justice and peace groups (see Collaborative Efforts page). Through regular communication, members and associates are informed about issues and concerns and encouraged to participate in and take action on those issues that further our mission (see Current Activity page).

Statement on Iraq
As Sisters of St. Joseph and members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, we decry the continuing tragic loss of life in Iraq. We mourn the deaths of Iraqi children, women and men, military personnel and civilians of all countries involved in the ongoing conflict, as well as those who lost their lives in the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. We also grieve the devastating impact on a beautiful land and ancient culture.

As women of faith and Christian principle, we recognize that there are numerous contributing causes to the climate of violence which continues in Iraq. The use of armed force by the United States in a pre-emptive strike has invited violent response and civil unrest. The lack of post-war planning and the massive destruction of Iraqi infrastructure and social order raise grave questions of moral responsibility. We challenge ourselves and all people of good will to seek conscientious, just and nonviolent solutions to our world's problems. We further call upon the government of the United States to cooperate with the United Nations to secure peace and a hope-filled future for the people of Iraq.

From our life of faith and service, we have learned that peace is not achieved through physical force. Peace prevails where peace has been learned, met, experienced, modeled. We invoke God's call as presented to us in the Book of Deuteronomy: "Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live." Deut. 30:19)

[Adopted by the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious at their 2003 National Assembly in Detroit, MI]

Contact the Peace and Justice Office

• By phone: 248-541-3094
• By email: MGondeck@csjoseph.org

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