Provincial Leadership Team

August 15, 2019

Mr. President, 

As Sisters of Divine Providence, we commit ourselves to creating a world of compassion, justice and peace, and to making God's providence more visible in our world. We join with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in calling for an end to all divisive rhetoric. 

We live in a world increasingly marked by hatred, brutality, and violent conflict. We see our own country threatened by increasing disparities in economic, political, and social power. We are caught in a political culture paralyzed by ideological extremism and hyper-partisanship. These are times that require exceptional insight and courageous leadership.

In the face of these unprecedented challenges, we are outraged and heart-broken when our political leaders appeal to our basest instincts and stoke the fires of fear that threaten to tear the fabric of our nation apart. We cannot, we will not, let the voices of hatred and fear carry the day.

Mr. President, we beseech you to end all divisive and polarizing rhetoric. We implore you to never use language that disrespects, dehumanizes, or demonizes others. We expect our president, and all who serve this nation as leaders, to be always mindful of the common good and the dignity of each and every person. You hold a position that has the potential to inspire the best of every one of us and we ask you to use this unique status to bring about healing and never seek to create division.

The people of this pluralistic nation form a diverse polity characterized by a wide variety of beliefs, experiences, and interests. Disagreements and differences have the potential to challenge all of us to abandon easy certainty and seek a fuller truth. The problem is not our many differences or passionate disagreements. Those differences are our greatest strength; those disagreements are opportunities for growth. It is how we handle those inevitable conflicts that spells the difference between building the common good and destroying the bonds that bind this nation.

In his address to the US Congress in 2015, Pope Francis invited our political leaders 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 and all who seek to lead this nation when he said, "Each son or daughter of a given country 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." 

As Catholic sisters, our ministries frequently require us to be in the heart of situations of discord and division, and thus we understand the great complexities and challenges that are inherent in the work of reconciliation. We too have to reach deep within ourselves to bring forth the grace and strength that are needed to not give in to the temptation of labeling or judging those who are different from us. We share with you, Mr. President, that maintaining this fundamental stance in life requires discipline and fortitude and a constant examination of our daily thoughts and deeds in light of our beliefs. We sometimes come up short, but pledge to do better each day because we are aware of the moral authority we, as sisters, bear. We ask you, Mr. President, if you would consider a similar examination of the practice of your own moral authority.

We send this letter to you as more than 300 Sisters and Associates who minister in the United States and the Caribbean. We promise to never cease raising our voices on behalf of the common good and praying for the healing of this country. 

Sincerely,

Sister Michele Bisbey, CDP
Provincial Leader

Witnessing the dying moments of George Floyd on TV while he was in the custody of Minneapolis Police, the very people who are supposed to protect all its citizens, we saw that Mr. Floyd was gasping for breath and saying, "Please, I can’t breathe." A sense of anger and helplessness came upon us as we couldn’t believe this was really happening. When we heard the report that he was pronounced dead at the hospital, our hearts broke for the family of George Floyd and to all our Black brothers and sisters who suffer incidences like this way too often. We are a Roman Catholic community of Women Religious, beneficiaries of white privilege. We are saddened and alarmed by the many manifestations of racism that is demonstrated by incidents such as this in our country.

We are Sisters of Divine Providence of the Marie de la Roche Province. We and our Associates and Partners in ministry, work for Justice in Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Missouri and Massachusetts. We were founded in 1851 by Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler of Germany who confronted civil and ecclesiastical authority when needed, risking his authority and reputation in the pursuit of justice. In his spirit we can do no less.

We respect and support the rights of all those who are trying to conduct peaceful demonstrations in honor of George Floyd and calling for reform in the way our police systems throughout the U.S. handle arrest cases. We are dismayed by the violence and destruction that some demonstrators are displaying.

We call on our civil authorities - the state governments, the mayors of our cities, police departments - throughout our country to scrutinize and reform the way police officers are trained and to ban all use of excessive force to nonviolent, compliant suspects in custody - applied equally to Blacks and Whites.

We invite you all to pray with us for the reform needed to make our make our country a more just society for all peoples who live here.

Sincerely, 

Sisters of Divine Providence Leadership Team