Street Roots • Aug. 26-Sept. 1,2016
News
Page 11
Catholic nuns urge candidates to stop hateful rhetoric
The Leadership Conference o f Women
Religious, an organization o f Catholic
women, sent the following letter to the 2016
presidential candidates, asking them to insert
civil discourse in an election cylce where it
has been notably absent. LC W R’s executive
director penned this introduction for Street
Roots, and the letter that follows was mailed
to the presidential hopefuls.
has a mission, a personal and social
responsibility ... You are called to defend
and preserve the dignity of your fellow
citizens in the tireless and demanding
pursuit of the common good, for this is the
chief aim of all politics. A political society
endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to
satisfy common needs by stimulating the
growth of all its members, especially those
in situations of greater vulnerability or risk
... Building a future of freedom requires love
of the common good and cooperation in a
spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.”
It is that desire to serve the common
good that prompted us to challenge
ourselves, our fellow Americans and all who
seek to lead this nation to reject the politics
of fear and division and to choose instead,
“to seek the common good, to desire only
good for all others, and to offer our own
truth with equal measures of conviction and
humility.”
The future of the nation depends on it!
SISTER JOAN MARIE STEADMAN
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
e live in a world increasingly
marked by inequity, brutality and
violence of every sort. We see our
own nation threatened by increasing
disparities in economic, political and social
power. At the same time we are reminded
daily of the beauty of God’s creation and the
goodness of those with whom we share this
country and our planet home.
As people of faith and women religious
we take seriously the gospel call to love and
care for each and every person. We are
committed to the precepts of Catholic social
teaching that remind us that the dignity of
the human person is at the core of our
moral vision of society. We believe that we
have a personal and social responsibility to
serve the common good.
Catholic sisters came to this country as
immigrants almost 300 years ago to
minister to those in most need. They
claimed this country as their own. They
became citizens and helped to build this
nation as they established schools, hospitals
and social service agencies. We continue to
serve and to accept our own responsibility
to participate in the political processes that
shape our nation and impact our world.
In his address to the U.S. Congress last
September, Pope Francis invited members
of Congress to promote respect for the
dignity of every human person and to renew
their commitment to a spirit of cooperation.
He also addressed each of us when he said:
“Each son or daughter of a given country
W
The letter to the presidential
candidates
On behalf of the 5,671 Catholic Sisters
across the United States who have signed
this letter, we ask you to join us in calling
for civility in our discourse and decency in
our political interaction that promotes the
common good, reaches out to others,
engages in constructive dialogue and seeks
together the way forward. We ask you to
join us in promising to engage in political
dialogue that reflects the principles and
values upon which this nation was founded.
In his Sept. 24, 2015 address to the U.S.
Congress, Pope Francis reminded all who
seek to serve that, “You are called to defend
and preserve the dignity of your fellow
citizens in the tireless and demanding
pursuit of the common good, for this is the
chief aim of all politics.”
Unfortunately, we live in a time when our
politics is too often marked by self-interest
and demeaning rhetoric. We seem to be
caught in a political system paralyzed by
ideological extremism and hyper
partisanship. Those on all sides of the
growing political divide too often appeal to
our basest instincts and stoke the fires of
fear that tear at the fabric of our nation. We
cannot let the voices of hatred and fear
carry the day.
We need courageous leaders willing to
speak the truth. We simply ask that all who
seek to lead refrain from language that
disrespects, dehumanizes, or demonizes
another. We pray that all who seek to
influence public opinion will be mindful of
the common good and respectful of the
dignity of each and every person.
Citizens of this pluralistic nation form a
diverse polity characterized by a wide
variety of beliefs, experiences and interests.
Our differences have the potential to
challenge all of us to abandon easy certainty
and seek a fuller truth. The problem is not
our differences. It is how those
disagreements are handled that spells the
difference between building the common
good and destroying the bonds that bind us.
We urge you to join us in pledging to
engage in careful listening and honest-
dialogue that honors the dignity of those
with whom we disagree and treats all with
the respect that is their God-given right.
Please join us in promising to seek the
common good, to desire only good for all
others, and to offer our own truth with
equal measures of conviction and humility.
We know that you offer yourself in service
of the people of the United States at great
cost to yourself and your family. We promise
you our prayers in the weeks and months
ahead.
Sister Joan Marie Steadman, CSJ is the
Executive Director o f the Leadership
Conference o f Women Religious
ACROSS
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