Vol. XXXVIII, No. 12 USA–OCT 2015

This month we pray for the missionaries around the world and we remember the call to carry our missionary commitment.

As a Congregation, our mission began 125 years ago with the aim to share God’s love. Wherever our service is needed, we are always open to new ways of responding to the needs of the peo-ple in the world today.

Our founder and co-foundresses were passionate about mission. Seven years after the beginning of our Congregation, they sent missionaries to Argentina and twelve years later to the United States! The same missionary passion still burns in our hearts. We, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, are present in 51 countries!

With grateful hearts, we remember all SSpS missionaries. Even though beginnings were not easy (with forty-seven cents), our Sisters in the USA had great confidence and faith that God was guiding them in missionary service.

In our Paraclete Province, we are very blessed to have Sisters from nineteen countries sharing life and mission in our nine in-ternational communities. Thank you for your courage and gen-erosity to embrace missionary service. Thank you for your pas-sion for Christ visible in your service to God’s people.

Sr. Monica Mabel, SSpS

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Welcome!

Sr. Gladys Smith joined our community in Northfield last September 28.

Fabienne Fritzsching, MaZ volunteer from Germany, arrived on September 13 and joined our community in Rog-ers Park. Fabienne is currently assisting at the the HSLLC.

Sr. Judy Vallimont’s brother, Ray, passed away evening of October 2.

Antonio Pinto, uncle of Sr. Genobeba Amaral also passed away morning of October 6.

In this time of loss, our prayers and thoughts are with you and your families.

Let us also continue to pray for our elderly Sisters, especially those having some health concerns, and for the relatives of our Sisters who are sick.

Welcome Back!

After co-facilitating the International English Tertiate in Steyl-Rome, Sr. Agathe Bramkamp arrived back last Sept. 17. She has joined our community in Grayslake and is accompanying our three candidates.

Sr. Elwira Dziuk has returned from her home visit to Poland last Sept. 23. Similarly, Sr. Anita Marie Gutierrez also came back from her vacation. Sr. Mary Joseph Hofschulte en-joyed some weeks with her family also.

We are happy to have you all back! Fabienne with

Sr. Judy

Until We Meet Again!

We have three Sisters who are leaving our Province and will be heading back to their home Provinces:

Sr. Zelia Cordeiro will return to Brazil South by the end of October

Sr. Odila Ganzer will also return to Brazil South in the second week of December

Sr. Maria Tarsisia Lou Kothan will return to Indonesia on December 17

We wish you all the best and as the Irish prayer goes:

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Prayers November Birthdays

May you feel the God’s loving presence every moment your special day!

04 Sr. Elwira 07 Sr. Odila 10 Sr. Mary Helen 13 Sr. Marie Angela 16 Sr. Gertrude Ahegbebu 16 Sr. Evelyn Lobo 22 Sr. Veronica Marie 27 Sr. Yina Ni 30 Lorvita Ferilus

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Sr. Salud’s Renewal of Vows

My renewal of vows here in Argentina was a very differ-ent experience. In United States, I used to have a day of rec-ollection alone before I renewed my vows, but here I had a very nice workshop about "Leadership in our mission" with the Junior sisters from two provinces: Paraguay and Misiones. It was a very good experience to meet them and share our experiences. We spent three days in Paraguay. It was for me a good time to reflect and pray. I felt at peace since I knew that the Junior sisters from my province will prepare everything for the celebration of my renewal of vows. They tried to make me feel at home. The first thing they did, was to invite a Mexican priest, Fr. Hector Maldona-do, who came to celebrate Mass that day at the Convent of the Holy Spirit sisters “Oasis del Espiritu." Then, they invit-ed a youth group from the parish to come and sing during the Mass. Although, they did not know me, I felt that they sang from their hearts. It was very touching -- the whole Mass. My community from Santa Maria was there to support me. It was a wonderful day. I am very grateful to all the sisters here in Argentina who welcomed me by opening their hearts to accept, support, encourage and love me as I am. Also, I will not forget all the sisters from the United States and Mexico who supported me when I was there and still support me through their prayers. Thank you so much all of you.

Sr. Salud Osornio, SSpS

St. Kitts Anniversary

When Jesus says YES, nobody can say no!

Praise the Lord!

Picture taken from St. Kitts Slide Presentation

Last October 10, 2015 we celebrated the anniversary of the founding our community in St. Kitts.

We thank God for the gift of all our Sisters who poured their love and commitment into this com-munity. Let us continue to support our Sisters and their ministries with our prayers.

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English Tertiate June– September 2015

I just returned from a four months assign-ment in Europe, mostly Steyl, Netherlands and then Rome, Italy. I had the privilege of being in-vited to the English Tertiate this year; I was asked to be a co-facilitator for the program that actually was well developed and expertly guid-ed by Sr. Emmie Vas, SSpS. I made some topical contributions that were well received by the par-ticipants and deemed useful in the ardent jour-ney toward a deeper understanding of self and our missionary vocation in the second part of our life’s journey. Other than that I was to be a spiritual companion, and provide a faithful presence and sometimes helper in a strange place.

We had a wonderful group of 28 sisters who could hardly be more diverse personally, cultur-ally, by training, and missionary work. They were from 7 nations: from India 11, Indonesia 4, Philippines 6, Slovakia 3, Ghana 2, South Korea 1, Germany 1. They were engaged in a great va-riety of missionary work in 11 countries: in Sibe-ria and South Africa, in all four Indian Provinc-es, in the Philippines North and South, Indone-sia, South Sudan and Ghana, in Togo/Benin and

England/Ireland, in Zambia and Slovakia; and yet they found each other in a beautiful way, eventually creating communion where all could feel at ease and at home with each other.

Their chosen motto, inspired by Pope Fran-cis’ call to “Wake up the World” and their own missionary desire was: Wake up! Renew and

Integrate in Communion for Mission. It was a great gift and privilege for me to accompany them on that journey toward Renewal for these four months. I wish that each one of them will hold on to that spirit of joy and affirmation of being God’s own herald of Good News.

Sr. Agathe Bramkamp, SSpS

The missionary life…[is] the

greatest grace that God could have ever

given to me. - St. Joseph Freinademetz

Sr. Agathe with Holy Spirit missionaries from all over the world.

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World Meeting of Families 2015 and the Pope’s Visit to Philadelphia

The “Knotted Grotto,” a dome-shaped frame that held prayer intentions written on ribbons

With my heart full of joy and with the grace of God, I want to share with you the beautiful expe-rience I lived during the week I was in Philadelph-ia.

By the end of April, I received a phone call from the SEPI (Southeast Pastoral Institute) won-dering if I was planning on attending the World Meeting of Families and the Pope's visit in Phila-delphia. I said that it was something I had not con-sidered and that I did not have the budget to do so. When I was asked if I would like to attend and my response was that of course, but that was not possible. They said they had good news for me, that they were inviting me, and that sponsors would pay my stay, food and local transportation. I only had to see how to get there. I asked Sister Monica Mabel and she gave me permission to participate and to buy my ticket.

So that’s how it all began. Later it would be-come the richest experience I’ve had in this type of event. I traveled from Memphis, TN on September 21st and once in Philadelphia, I met with two reli-gious sisters of the Congregation of the Missionar-ies Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit (MGSpS) with whom I shared a room all week at a downtown hotel in the city. The next day we met with the rest of the SEPI group, all leaders of the Hispanic Min-istry in the southeast area of the country. Together we attended various conferences that took place in the Convention Center of the city. Over 100 coun-tries were represented in which whole families with children and young people had their meet-ings and work. Thousands and thousands of peo-ple convened to discuss the situation of the cur-

rent family, talk about the challenges and seek ways for today's family to live according to the values of the Gospel. The atmosphere was a con-tinuous party, which spread joy to all who came to the center, even the locals spoke of the positive energy that this generated in the city.

The finale for this was the visit of Pope Francis. Even though we had to walk a lot because the ci ty was “besieged,” we did not care. We were listening to the Pope in the Independence Mall and the Family Festival. In addition, we partici-pated in the closing Mass of his visit to the USA. We had the grace to see him pass very close to us and could feel his energy and perceive him as a man of God, capable of spreading joy, faith and love. It is difficult to express in words the feelings that each encounter produced, but it is important that everyone involved in the event has returned home renewed and more eager to share the love that God has for us.

Sisters, thank you for the possibility of this ex-perience, the intentions of each SSpS were written on the strips of cloth that formed the chapel of the Virgin Desatanudos where Pope Francis stopped to pray for each of the intentions next to the Ca-thedral.

Sr. Monica Darrichon, SSpS

Sr. Mónica Darrichon with the SEPI group

Pope Francis

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Who’s Who in Vicariate II?

On the evening of September 23, 2015, over seventy religious sisters, brothers, and priests gathered at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Techny simply to get to know “who’s who in Vicariate II.” The gathering was one of the ac-tivities sponsored by the Archdiocesan Office for Religious to celebrate the Year of Consecrat-ed Life (YCL). Vicariate II is one of the episco-pal divisions of the Archdiocese and stretches from the shores of Lake Michigan on the east to the near northwest suburbs on the West, and from Lake Cook Road on the north to just south of Chicago Avenue on the south. (Now this is not an exact description, but gives you a bit of an idea of the participants places of ministry/residence.) The event was planned and facilitat-ed by a team of four: Franciscan Sister Lovina Pammit, Sister of the Living Word Lisa Polega, Holy Spirit Missionary Sister Judy Vallimont, and Franciscan Brother Jim Reiter. Srs. Lovina and Lisa also work in the Archdiocesan office.

The evening opened with Sr. Judy leading the group in a short prayer service. After assur-ing that we were truly sitting with persons not from our own communities, Brother Jim invited us to speak within our groups about our minis-tries and how these ministries flowed out of our religious charism. The informal and relaxed at-mosphere led to some very creative, informa-

tive—and even humorous—sharing. Brother Jim later extended an open invitation for repre-sentatives from the various groups to share an insight or something new we learned about our table-mates.

Following the sharing, Sr. Lovina raised the question: Where do we go from here? This was an opportunity for us to share what we could do as follow up. Our ideas included inviting young people to open houses within our convents/monasteries. (We have several provincial and novitiate houses in this Vicariate.) We also heard a suggestion to have a “food fight”—see which group could prepare the most sack lunch-es for the homeless within a given amount of time. The dominating idea was that we come together again to strengthen bonds of friendship and support. Coming together is not simply to be an activity for the YCL. Sr. Judy closed the evening with a shared prayer.

Sr. Judy Vallimont, SSpS

Grateful Hearts from South Sudan

We have received a note from our Sisters in South Sudan, thanking us for all the prayers and support we have given them — for widening the circle and in truly being in communion with them despite the physical distance. They happily shared that they were able to assist more IDP’s (Internally Displaced People), including the family of one of our Sisters here in our Province.

“Spirit of Joy Come Down to Us”

- card cover from SSpS Sisters in South Sudan

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The Inter-Community Juniorate Gathering was hosted by the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS) in Techny, IL with 19 Juniors and Directors/Directresses on the topic of “Relationships, Building Community and Networking.” Mary Butler, a family and relationship therapist, lead the day with her insights into the topic and then got us working in groups getting to know one another and helping us to network among ourselves. Five SSpS Juniors, Srs. Uloma Akpa, Yina Ni, Skolastika Wea, Clara Machimura and Paola Benitez, participated and helped host this day. Sr. Yina commented, “I appreciated the wonderful day we had in Techny. I had a nice experience with all of you. It is always very exciting to get to know new friends and meet old friends. As a peer group, I do benefit from this gathering, as a kind of support system. They are all wonderful people, I am so glad to know them and hear their stories. Of course, Mary Butler did a good job. I appreciated it very much.” Having Sr. Paola with us was wonderful since this was her first Juniorate gathering and she is just beginning to learn English. She wrote, “I am happy to meet other junior religious. I also liked the topic, what little I understood.” Sr. Clara echoed these words by saying that she was happy to be there with the Juniors. It was a good day.

Sr. Rose Therese Nolta, SSpS

Inter-Community Juniorate Gathering

Antigua Pastoral Ministry

Our local Holy Spirit Missionary community in Antigua, West Indies collaborates with Holy Family Cathedral parish in a number of ways.

The money I requested from the Jubilee Fund was used for materials for parish ministries. Some was used for a tape recorder which is used by different members of our local SSpS commu-nity in our work with faith-building classes for adults and for youth and children.

And some of the money was used for mak-ing copies. During the Mass in Spanish on Sun-

day mornings I take the children to a side chapel during the lit-urgy of the Word. I make copies of pic-tures of gospel-related stories for the children and after talking

about the theme of the gospel for the day they color the pictures and take them home with them.

On Saturdays I have a small group of teens for sacramental preparation – First Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation. We do not have a text book for the students so I make a les-son for each class and copy it and also give them word-searches related to the next day’s Gospel reading.

From time to time I give retreats to the His-panic community and make copies for the small group discussions. I do reflection and prayer sheets for each session of ALPHA, an adult faith sharing group that meets weekly for a 10-week session and then monthly.

So this money supports the growth of faith in our Holy Family Cathedral parish.

Sr. Margaret Anne Norris, SSpS Faith building classes with

Sr. Margaret Anne

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Thank You Note from Memphis, TN

I want to share in what ways various groups have benefited from the grant (Jubilee Fund) given by the Paraclete Province for the occasion of the celebration of 125 years of the congrega-tion.

First of all, St. Joseph parish, being one of the poorest parishes in the diocese, has benefited from the purchase of 200 choir books to use along with piano and guitar and 24 Cd’s to up-date the repertory of the liturgies in Spanish. These books replaced the 40 books that were worn out at the parish. Since the purchase of this material, the choir has been able to renovate and practice before each mass with the parish-ioners who attend the Eucharistic Celebration. The participation of the assembly has increased

and new members have joined the choir.

Other projects refer to Catechesis, such as catechist formation and renovation of audio-visual material. At the end of August 2014,

Sr. Gladys Smith was invited to facilitate a course/retreat for catechists in the Diocese with the focus of catechetical methodology, and the actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The sister came all the way from New York for two days and with the grant, we bought her plane ticket. Around 70 catechists benefited from this en-counter in which positive feedback was re-ceived. We were grateful for her testimony and orientation.

Finally, audio-visual material was obtained to be used by children and youth in the catechet-ical encounters, and material for minister for-mation that is used monthly. Also, material was purchased to use with the PRE parents. The ex-perience with the material has been acceptable and has been put to good use. The children en-joy the videos and they learn bible and doctrinal contents through them. The adults manage to focus better in what is being taught and they can work through what it has been spoken, heard and seen. These materials make the teaching and the learning experience easier for those who attend.

Thanks to you, with all my heart, the prov-ince, for your generosity towards the most need-ed, and for making our mission easier for the Hispanic children, youth and adults in Memphis, TN.

Sr. Monica Darrichon, SSpS

St. Joseph Parish Choir

Sr. Monica Darrichon with the youth during a catechetical encounter

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Arrival of Container in Jamaica

On the morning of the 17th of September, our hands were full. The container from Northfield arrived at Morant Bay in Jamaica! Thanks to the Province, Sr. Mary Miller, Mark Kelly, our friends from St. Norbert Parish and all people deeply involved into this project.

From 7 a.m. six men (Fr. Zibi, Bro. Jacques, Max, Lionel, Rambo, David) worked hard to un-load the well packed container.

We shared the library shelves with the public library in Morant Bay. A few men from the li-brary quickly learned how to put the pieces of metal together and then offered to help us to put the library shelves in our school whenever we are ready.

We got many books, education materials, toys and sports equipment and we were able to

share with many schools in the St. Thomas area. We are so grateful for everything and we prom-ise to use it well. You could see the smiles on the children’s faces.

Six boys got the special gift, the bicycles. They are so happy to have their own bi-cycle. The purpose is to help them to travel to school. So far, they have to find their way to schools because the schools do not have a special place to park the bicycles and the schools are not responsi-ble for them.

In our St. Thomas hospital and infirmary, I received a great “thank you” from all the medi-cal staff. There is always a need for different items.

There are many people who benefited from the project. Once more “THANK YOU” for your support and great heart for GOD’S mission. You are all in our prayers.

Sr. Barbara Miensopust, SSpS

The container has arrived!

One of the happy bicycle recipients

The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters work together with other religious organi-zations. The 8th Day Center for Justice and Project IRENE are two that work with other religious congregations to make the world more just and peaceful. Sr. Rose Therese Nolta as the SSpS representative, attended the 8th Day Center for Justice’s Assembly on September 28th. This meeting looked back and forward into 2016 to see how we could collaborate on issues like environmental justice, worker’s rights, immigration, Human Trafficking, racial justice, peace and many others topics.

The liaison persons from each congregation of Project IRENE met together on Oc-

tober 3rd at the Felician’s Motherhouse for an afternoon of sharing what is happen-

ing in Springfield, IL in connection with women and children. Sr. Rosemary Mey-

er, BVM gave us many insights and materials into Illinois’ legislative reality.

Together we can really make a difference.

Sr. Rose Therese Nolta , SSpS

Collaborating with Others

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Sisters Edel Maria Deong, Angelica Chavol, and Mary Miller attended the Mission Congress 2015 sponsored by the Catholic Mission Form.

The four day Congress pro-vided opportunities for mission animation and renewal. The opening Eucharistic Celebra-tion, con-celebrated by several bishops in attendance, the mis-sion tone of the Congress was set forth in Word, Sacrament, and symbol. The remaining days of the Congress com-prised of several “Keynote” ad-dresses, reflection and shar-ing, break-out sessions on a variety of mission-related topics, and an excursion to some of the outreach pro-grams of the church in Hou-ston. In between there were many opportunities to en-gage in conversation with missionaries from around the world.

Just a few highlights from some of the Keynote Addresses….

Sr. Margaret Guider, OSF, a member of the ecclesiastical faculty of Boston College School of Theology and Minis-try and Associate Professor of Missiology spoke on “From the Memory of Missions to the Mission of Mercy and Joy: The

Roman Catholic Missiological Imagination in Evolution”. Sis-ter stressed that global theolo-gy has a responsibility to be relevant and to remain in touch with the global Church and the world. She spoke about the missiological shifts that oc-curred over time and their im-pact in the transformation of witness of mercy and joy. “God calls us to evangelical at-tentiveness!” The ‘New’ Evan-gelization calls us to be atten-tive and open in order to re-ceive, proclaim, and witness the Gospel.

Sr. Meg, traced the transi-tion of missiology in the past 125 years through the encycli-cals and other writings of the Popes. Throughout her talk Sis-ter invited us to once again “listen attentively with new ears”. From Leo XIII who gave us the Catholic Social Teachings to

Francis, we have been encour-aged to be attentive to the is-sues of racism and human traf-ficking; to appreciate our diver-sity, catholicity, and promote inclusion. The Church empha-sizes the giftedness of every cul-ture and addresses those forces that work to negate and prevent inclusion. We are reminded over and over to be joyful wit-nesses of the Gospel, prepared through on-going authentic re-newal.

In conclusion, Sr. Meg en-couraged the participants to be

open to new dreams and vi-sions; to risk everything for the sake of the poor; to re-build those parts of the Church that have fallen into ruin, abandoned by some, and destroyed by others; to be attentive to the Word and allow their hearts to be set free; to proclaim the Gospel joyfully; to announce peace to all; to engage Church leaders with humility, au-thenticity, and transparency;

not be afraid to go to the peripheries of life where mercy is most needed; and to expect the unexpected. The present moment is all we have! Walk in it with passion!

(continued on next page)

SSpS and SVD participants at Mission Congress

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Mission Congress 2015 (part 2)

The mission of the Church is not ideology. It is ministry to the poor and being ministered by them with cultural repercussions in our broken world. It is necessary, therefore, to engage the world with reality.

He spoke profoundly about “Mission to the Periphery”. A danger of our western world is our “indifference”. The western world often puts an objective image on suffering in order to shield ourselves from the pain.

Asking, “where is the periphery?” He said, “The periphery is all around us! Therefore, it is necessary to take advantage of the grace of the moment. The church has a mission to the pe-riphery – the poor, immigrant, marginalized, handicapped, women/children, the lonely….” Life is about reaching out!

With regard to the periphery of the Church, he asked “Who is NOT here? Why? What keeps one away?” in mission we need to engage the ‘face of the other’, the person. We need to rec-ognize the other! Being ‘catholic’ (universal) means “every person has a life, dignity”; there-fore our churches are to be places of acceptance/ welcome.

Emphasizing that mission is NOT a program, Bishop Flores said it is “an engagement, an en-counter”! It is necessary to listen to the story of the other. Take advantage of the moment!

The peripheries of the world call for our ‘radical care’. Everybody is called to friendship in society, to a place where the vulnerable are accepted. We must live the Gospel of ‘Radical Care’. It is not a strategy. We cannot evangelize unless we reach out to the abandoned.

Furthermore, Bishop Flores stressed the ‘contemplative dimension’ of mission. A contemplative vision sees God present all around. Creation is a gift, not something to be used!

He encouraged us to overcome lethargy and recapture the urgency of the Gospel. Recapture our own faith! Go out! Spiritual energy comes from the Gospel – read it, live it! Prayer engages the world!

Archbishop Arenas, speaking in Spanish, emphasized that the “New Evangelization” is about CHRIST! It is not a new message but a call for a new method for the Church to enter into encounter, to express the ‘Joy of the Gospel’ with an attitude of respect and to communicate the love of God.

He encouraged us to move from a ‘pastoral way’ to a ‘missionary way’ by means of using new “tools” for true missionary disciples—open the space to the action of the Holy Spirit; prayer (talk with God); Eucharist (center our life around the table of life); gain a deeper knowledge of Scripture through Lectio divino; re-value the Sacrament of Reconciliation; pay at-tention to the family and youth!

This is just a little taste of the rich content of the keynote speakers.

We (Srs. Edel Maria, Angelica, and Mary) are grateful for the opportunity to attend this Con-gress and for the many opportunities to encoun-ter and engage in conversation with other mis-sionaries with similar visions and goals.

Sr. Mary Miller, SSpS

Bishop Daniel Flores, of the Diocese of Brownsville, TX presented an address titled “Missionary Discipleship as a Call to En-counter Different Cultures in the Spirit of Accompaniment.”

Archbishop José Arenas, originally from Bogatá, Columbia, is Secretary of the Pon-tifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. He presented “A Conversation on the New Evangelization”

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“Give Light and People Will Find the Way”

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters: in the United States and in the Caribbean

Northfield, IL Grayslake, IL Epworth, IA Antigua

Waukegan, IL Chicago, IL Memphis, TN Jamaica

New York, NY St. Kitts

“Give light and people will find the way.” That was the motto of 8th Day Center for Justice’s An-nual Event, Revel in the Revolution. Ella Baker’s words really rang true at this event on September 19. Several supporters, activists, vol-unteers, and partners attended the fundraiser, which took place at Catholic Theological Union. The day began with some mingling until the main festivities began. We then gathered to watch a slideshow of all the wonderful work 8th Day does. The song, “Same As It Ever Was” by Michael Franti was playing in the background, which is significant as Franti wrote this song in response to the violence occurring in America. The lyrics call for change and understanding be-tween police and communities. Franti sings, “When we all see justice, then we’ll all see peace… It’s the same as it ever was. But there’s got to be a better day.”

The highlight of the evening was the presenta-tion of the 5th Annual Mary Elsbernd, OSF Award to People’s Law Office, as well as the moving keynote address by Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III. People’s Law Office has been fighting

for civil rights since the 1960s. They have suc-cessfully fought and won many cases throughout the years, specifically for victims of police brutality and other government abuses. Rev. Moss

swept us all away with his eloquent and emo-tive speech on people who pave the way for oth-ers to become change makers in history. For ex-ample, he pointed out Vernon Johns, civil rights

activist and Martin Luther King’s predecessor as pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Johns laid the founda-tion for Dr. King and countless other leaders in the Civil Rights Movement through his desegre-gation work, community activism and anti-oppression sermons.

It was a wonderful time to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. I was truly honored to witness firsthand all of the love and passion of so many people, all working for social change. It reenergized me in my pursuit of so-cial justice and it reignited my desire for a more just world. I was so grateful to be a part of something so special.

Virginia Rivera Communications Specialist

Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III

Virginia with other participants

You can watch the presentation of the Mary Eldsbernd, OSF Award and the keynote address by Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III here: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=pDT9jUc7E9s&feature=youtu.be

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According to the UN Refugee Agency, worldwide

displacement has hit an all-time high as war and

persecution increase. Record numbers have been

forced to flee their homes and seek protection else-

where. Pope Francis acknowledged this growing

global crisis while addressing the United Nations in

October: “[People] have faced the alternative either

of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and

to peace by their own lives.”

The conflict in Syria has created the largest refugee

crisis of our era. Anti-government demonstrations

started in 2011, which quickly escalated to violent protests. Rebels began fighting back; divisions

between ethnic and religious groups continue to fuel the conflict. Syria’s civil war has cost hun-

dreds of thousands of innocent people their lives and displaced millions more. In March 2015, over

10.3 million Syrians had been displaced, 4 million of whom have fled their homes (this is expected

to rise to 4.2 million by the end of 2015). More than 3 million of these refugees are women and chil-

dren. This year alone more than 2,500 refugees have died in the Mediterranean attempting to flee to

Europe. The United Nations High Commis-

sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had made an

appeal for resettlement of 130,000 Syrian ref-

ugees worldwide in 2014-2016.

Actions:

Sign the petition!

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/

petition/authorize-and-resettle-syrian-

refugees-us

Call the White House: 202-456-1111

“The U.S. must show leadership in re-

sponding to the global refugee crisis, in-

cluding in Syria. I urge President Obama

to increase refugee resettlement from

70,000 to 100,000 this coming year.”

JPIC Corner — October, 2015

Global Refugee Crisis—Syria

Map courtesy of dictionarybank.com.

Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magni-tude not seen since the Second World War.

This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions... We must not be taken aback

by their numbers, but rather view them as per-sons, seeing their faces and listening to their

stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always

humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard

whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would

have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).

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The United States’ Response:

The White House has signaled they will resettle 10,000

Syrian refugees

This is not nearly enough, as they were already planning

to resettle 5-8,000

The U.S. has traditionally accepted at least half of all

UNHCR referrals for any given population. In order to

uphold this tradition, the U.S. would need to resettle at

least 65,000 Syrian refugees by 2016

70 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama

calling for resettlement of 100,000 Syrians

Legislative Update:

Protecting Religious Minorities Persecuted by ISIS Act

(H.R. 1568)

This bill is bipartisan and would help Syrian and Iraqi ref-

ugees who are facing gender-based violence as well as reli-

gious and ethnic minorities.

Resettlement Accountability National Security Act

(H.R. 3314)

Sponsored by Rep. Babin (R-TX), this anti-refugee bill

would stop all U.S. resettlement until the House and Sen-

ate pass a resolution to re-establish this.

Have Your Voice Heard:

Write an Opinion Editorial or Letter to the

Editor for your local newspaper about the need

to welcome more Syrian refugees

Utilize social media to educate people about

your community’s support for resettlement—

use the hashtags #WelcomeWorld and

#WelcomeRefugees

Host events in your community to educate

people about the crisis in Syria and the need for

U.S. leadership

“If We Want Opportunities, Let Us Provide Opportunities”

A Prayer for The People of Syria

Almighty eternal God, source of all compassion, the promise of your mer-cy and saving help fills our hearts with hope. Hear the cries of the people of Syria; bring healing to those suffering from the violence, and comfort to those mourning the dead. Empower and encourage Syria’s neighbors in their care and welcome for refugees. Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms, and strengthen the re-solve of those committed to peace.

O God of hope and Father of mercy, your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs. Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with enemies. Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on jus-tice for all. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Photo courtesy of ignatiansolidarity.net.