Justice and Peace
Grounded in our roots and enlightened by the Gospel, “we work for a future in which the poor and suffering, the hungry in body and spirit, will know God’s saving presence in them.” Learn more about our Justice and Peace work.
As she talked toward me in the middle of the bus station, the first thing I noticed was the long bright red sweater pulled down tightly over her very pregnant body. Looking at her bright, dark eyes, almost perfect complexion and wide smile, no one could have guessed that Maura had just stepped off a…
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Retirement” means different things to different folks. For some, it is an opportunity to travel; for others, a chance to pursue a long-neglected hobby or to discover a new one. For Judy McLaughlin, it meant co-founding a shelter for those with nowhere else to go. Burning desire for social justice work In 1997, Judy retired…
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Life in Pakistan is not easy for women. The majority of Pakistan’s women belong to the working class as agricultural laborers, factory workers, domestic servants and governesses. They are part of the lower and middle class, which includes students, teachers and nurses. In the middle classes women are becoming doctors, engineers, computer programmers, etc. Women…
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Refugees arrive at one of 10 Annunciation House (AH) sites in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buses from the El Paso detention center. Ours was the Soluna Hotel. AH would contact our coordinator, alerting him of the imminent arrival of a bus and how many persons were coming, the majority from Guatemala, El Salvador and…
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I spent a week in El Paso helping with the humanitarian crisis of Central American refugees being released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. Living in Hawaii, I felt quite removed from the border crisis, and I wanted to know first-hand what was really happening and perhaps why so many people are risking everything…
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At Assembly 2018, Loretto approved a resolution making “$100,000 … available … in 2019 and again in 2020 and 2021 for access by Loretto Community members, vowed and co, to support their work that furthers Loretto’s mission.” The purpose of these funds is to support the work of Loretto vowed and co-members and the ministries…
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(Editor’s Note: This article is an update to the initial article in the December 2018 issue of Interchange. It gives us a view of the great progress the sister-schools in San Antonio, Texas, and Lahore, Pakistan, have achieved.) There are many possible ways to connect sister-schools between St. Anthony School, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, and Rolling…
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At the recent U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (March 2019), Loretto at the UN co-sponsored a parallel event entitled “Breakthrough in Transforming Patriarchy: The Promise of Gender Equity and Reconciliation.” We co-sponsored this event with an organization that I had encountered at the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto called Gender…
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By Lisa Reynolds and Sally Maresh Angie Thurston and Casper ter Kuile, the two Harvard Ministry Innovation Fellows who were part of the Emerging Forms presentation at our 2017 Assembly, spoke in Denver April 17, on “Responding to the Needs Of Millennials: ‘How We Gather.’ The Harvard Women’s Studies in Religion hosted their talk. The…
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As Loretto members demonstrate and march, Robert Strobridge (Stro) is with us in his well-made, colorful banners. They draw attention to the cause and announce the presence of the Loretto Community. Wherever Loretto members use them, they are noticed and photographed. His banners have been at demonstrations from our southern border to Standing Rock. We…
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Recently I returned from volunteer work helping immigrant families at the El Paso/Juarez border. I wish to share the remarkable story unfolding there. I had been reading accounts in Interchange of the dramatic needs at Annunciation House. These stories moved me to begin sending shipments of clothing and toiletries to assist immigrants arriving after arduous…
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By Mary Jean Friel and Mary Helen Sandoval The Latin America/Caribbean Committee sponsored a trip to the Mexican border at Nogales, Mexico. We led the excursion. Due to the strong support of the administrative team of St. Mary’s Academy (SMA), six staff members were able to participate, and the Loretto Volunteer Program sponsored two women.…
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