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Focusing our justice work in North America Sharpening our focus on migration is one of hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today. Many of our Sisters in North America who are working to ensure justice for the poor and oppressed meet annually to share their ministries and learn from each other. In 2006, our Justice Co-Mission group chose “Migration in all its Ramifications” as the focus of our justice involvements for the next 3 years. Thus the theme of our 2007 meeting, held in late September near Tucson, Arizona, was “Sharpening the Focus on Migration: Root Causes, Alternative Solutions, and Needed Advocacy.” The meeting location in the Sonoran desert was a stark reminder of the dangers hundreds of migrants face in attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the U.S. The Sisters who attended were privileged to hear from wonderful speakers, including the local Ordinary, Bishop Gerald Kicanus. Dr. Jill Guernsey de Zapien, Associate Dean for Community Affairs at the University of Arizona, and Dr. Mercedes Gameros of the Health Department of Sonora, Mexico, discussed health issues accompanying migration along the U.S.- Mexican border.
Sister Lillian Mattingly, MM, a missionary who served for many years in Bolivia, spoke of her current work with BorderLinks www.borderlinks.org, a group that educates people about border issues. Reverend John Fife, the retired pastor of Tuscon’s Southside Presbyterian Church and one of the founders of the Sanctuary Movement in the U.S. in the 1970s, shared a talk on “The Role of God’s People in Solving the Dilemma of Migration.” And two members of Just Coffee www.justcoffee.org, a coffee grower cooperative, explained their simple and effective business model.
The North American Sisters attending the meeting shared their many justice involvements, ranging from direct services and a variety of micro loan and community empowerment initiatives, to numerous efforts at the UN, state capitols, and national and municipal legislators’ offices. Sister Marielena Ridad, our Sector Coordinator in Latin America, presented a report on issues at the Colombian/Venezuelan border. Sister Janet Gottschalk, Director of our Alliance for Justice Office, reflects, “It was actually a very humbling experience to hear of so much activity and commitment from an aging group – one filled with passion and commitment to bring about a world of peace based on justice.”
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