Statement on the January 6, 2021 Capital Siege

We, Members of the Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Congregation de Notre Dame of Blessed Sacrament Province invite all in our Circles of Ministry and Friendship: our Sisters, Associates, and Collaborators in Mission to a renewed call of our Congregation’s 17th Century Founder, Marguerite Bourgeoys.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, whose feast day is January 12, is a woman for our time as well as for her own.  The rule of law she made for her community of sisters was simple and inclusive. “The Rule for this community, and for everyone, is the one God gave from the creation of the world…’You shall love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.’” 

What we witnessed in our nation’s capital on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 must call us to more than shame. It calls us to a “vision of politics that is capable of cultivating virtue and forging new bonds. It calls us to a politics that recognizes that the poor, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the homeless have a way of looking at our world that can give us a fresh start.”[1]

We seek forgiveness for our complicity in our failed politics and work for the conversion of our own hearts and the systemic moral conversion of our country.  As leaders in our church we recommit to the education and advocacy that will be called forth in our ministries with others. We commit to bearing public witness that is clear and direct, as we seek to fashion God’s beloved community with our brothers and sisters. 

As members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, LCWR, we stand with the other more than 1300 leaders of Catholic sisters nationwide, who also join with the world in praying for peace after witnessing the January 6, 2021 violence and lawlessness in our nation’s capital.  With LCWR, we are deeply concerned about the state of our country and the future of our democracy. We commend and thank the members of Congress who courageously continued their service to the nation last night even amid the chaos.  With LCWR, we renew our commitment to the common good and pledge to take up the challenge to use our energy to repair our democracy and contribute to the work of building a more perfect union.