Felician Sisters of North America affirm the dignity of all persons and denounce the sin of human trafficking and the structural, economic and social systems that support it. We will continually examine our complicity as consumers and support slave-free companies and products as much as possible, support policies and programs to help abolish and prevent trafficking and use our ministerial resources to aid survivors where possible.
The Felician Sisters of North America affirm that access to clean water is a fundamental human right and a necessity for all of God’s created world. We will educate ourselves on issues of water use and supply and add our voice to those who are acting against water injustice and advocating with corporations and governments to ensure future water availability.
The Felician Sisters of North America’s Franciscan roots of conversion and humility call us to examine and transcend the ideas that have shaped our thinking regarding people who may be perceived as different from us. As women of the Gospel, we proclaim the mandate to reverence all human beings and all creation.
The Felician Sisters of North America will improve our efforts to care for our common home. We will examine our own behaviors and make concrete changes to lessen our negative impact on creation. Our commitment to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform will guide our efforts. We will add our collective voice in advocacy efforts urging corporations and governments to adopt policies that protect the environment and provide justice to people most affected by climate change.
The Felician Sisters of North America are women who follow the tradition of nonviolence handed down to us by Jesus Christ and St. Francis of Assisi. We call for the elimination of the nuclear weapons industry throughout the world and the reallocation of the resources, currently spent to maintain the nuclear arsenal, to educate children and to provide services for the poor.
We call upon our government leaders to abolish all nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. We call for the banning of all nuclear testing, the signing and implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the dismantling of all nuclear weapons.
As peacemakers, we promote non-violent ways of resolving conflicts and call upon our leaders to realize their responsibility to their constituents, to protect creation and to keep the world habitable for future generations.
As followers of the nonviolent Jesus and Saint Francis of Assisi who saw the face of Christ in everyone he encountered, the Felician Sisters of North America strongly support the abolition of the death penalty. We believe that the death penalty embodies the culture of violence and death in the United States today.
Studies have proven that the death penalty does not deter crime and discriminates among races and against the economically poor and uneducated. Moreover, evidence supports that innocent people have been wrongfully executed.
We prayerfully stand with the families and loved ones of victims, promote action to address the roots of violent behavior and endorse alternatives to the death penalty. We look forward to the day when the human dignity of each person is observed in the dispensing of justice and punishment.
