Corporate Stances
A corporate stance is the public response to an issue of basic human rights, civil rights, and/or global concerns. The Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids seek to end injustice through systemic action. Sisters may propose stances to redress an injustice, which are then put through an established process of study, reflection, prayer, discussion and vote of the membership. When approved by at least two-thirds of the members, these positions are shared with the public as a way to witness to our faith and our discipleship in Jesus and to educate and provide support to address the injustice. Our Constitution and many Church documents support our active involvement in response to injustices.
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“Within our means and relying on God’s help, we prepare ourselves to engage in any role necessary to promote justice, to empower the powerless and oppressed, to teach the unknowing and to sustain the efforts of all who seek to live fully human lives . . . Individually and corporately we are called to be attentive to the signs of the times.”
(Excerpts from our 1990 Constitution.)
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Since this process was adopted nearly twenty years ago, the congregation has taken the following corporate stances:
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t Nuclear Disarmament
Our country and our world will be safer by the reduction and eventual elimination of all armaments including nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional.
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t War in Iraq
The preemtive attack and invasion of Iraq by the U.S.-lead coalition was unjust and immoral, and we call for the U.S. Government to honor their commitment to humanitarian aid and reconstruction. (Full statement here)
The Number of deaths reflected in the icon account for violent civilian deaths. When including women and men in the military, the number increases to 1,320,110. ( Source: www.justforeignpolicy.org).
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 This icon links to
Iraq Body Count Website |
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t Death Penalty
Everyone is created in the image of God, and our respect for all life is at the root of our opposition to the death penalty.
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t Human Dignity
We believe that the normative, common element in the human family is our humanity. We pledge to see first the common ground of our humanity, and to allow our differences only to enrich and not to disparage us. We will notice, first and foremost, the human person before us in all our undertakings.
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t Youth Smoking
Given our educational and social service history with children, we commit ourselves to act as their advocates in local, national and international communities. Therefore we agree to boycott companies which advertise and promote smoking among young people.
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t Genetically Modified Organisms
We support a moratorium on the planting of crops derived from a genetically modified organism(GMO) pending environmental and human safety studies. Until such time as this technology is proven safe, all foods containing GMO ingredients should be clearly LABELED.
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