| Possumus Spring 2007 |
Leadership |
And justice for all.
The Justice Commission. The name conjures up a phalanx of superheroes out to right wrongs wherever they find them. But in this case, it refers to something very real: the Justice Commission of the Sisters of St. Joseph. They are not superheroes. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to stand strong in the name of truth, justice, and a better way of life for everyone.
Since their founding in France in 1650, the Sisters of St. Joseph have cared for poor and oppressed people wherever they find them, all across the globe. But for these Sisters, charity is not enough. Their mission also calls on them to determine the root causes of poverty and oppression existing within governments and societies and to work to eliminate those causes on a systemic level. At times throughout history, this struggle for justice has cost the Sisters their freedom, sometimes even their lives. And yet the work goes on—— globally, regionally, locally, and personally.
Here in the St. Paul Province, this never-ending quest for justice through systemic change is the work of the 21 people known as the Justice Commission. They are guided in this advocacy work by the Sisters’ own Acts of Chapter, which includes a challenge “to be in right relationship with people who are exploited and impoverished and to be in right relationship with the earth.” This guiding principle compels them to ask the right questions as well as perform the right actions —— ones that will eventually diminish suffering and lead to justice for all. It also encourages the Sisters to ask themselves this: what more can be done—— now——to make justice happen?
Because the job is so big and their numbers are so limited, the Sisters of St. Joseph must first “collect power” according to Linda Crosby, current co-Chair of the Commission. The Commission (8 Sisters and 13 Consociates, who are lay members of the CSJs) draws people together from both inside and outside the CSJ community, recruiting interested others to join the struggle with them. Once the power of many people working together toward a common goal is amassed, she says, “Then we can move out into the community to do our mission.” “That collective power for mission has been our bond,” adds Ginger Hedstrom, the Commission’s other co-Chair. “It draws us and it drives us.” Continued...
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