We Raise Our Voices – February 2024
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS
We commit ourselves to encountering and seeking the Holy in ourselves,
In each other, in the people of all cultures, lifestyles, and economic status.
The Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids with our Associates and Friends are committed to the dignity of each human being and to living the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus. Our Congregation has committed to ministering with children and adults immigrating to the United States. Sisters were invited to teach and support parish outreach since coming to this country from Germany in 1853. Consistently, Sisters have served in ministries in education, health care, ESL programs, and citizenship preparation. We helped establish Freedom House (Detroit) to shelter immigrants in need of legal and pastoral care, and Centro Mujeres de la Esperanza (El Paso, Texas) providing a supportive presence for women and children at the border.
We support Annunciation House which has offered hospitality to thousands of migrants in El Paso, Texas, responding to needs created by decades of neglect by the U.S. government to provide a safe, orderly and humane migration process. We abhor the increasingly aggressive responses by the State of Texas that not only punish migrants for the simple act of seeking safety but also target those who offer aid as a response of faith. At Annunciation House, which has coordinated with the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE and other community partners, migrants can find food, clothing and shelter as they prepare to leave El Paso on the next leg of their journey.
We join with Bishop Mark Seitz who described the work of Annunciation House as “an example of our Catholic commitment to the poor, the Christian call to love one’s neighbor, and stepping into the breach to take action where many will not.” We acknowledge a deep debt of gratitude to Annunciation House. We stand with Annunciation House staff and volunteers as they face this unjust attempt to criminalize their crucial service.
We call upon the State of Texas to cease and desist their oppressive actions toward immigrants and against Annunciation House.
