What's Happening

September 1, 2016, Adrian, Michigan — Five Adrian Dominican Sisters are attending the Jubilee International Congress on the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights: Past, Present, and Future. The Congress begins Thursday, September 1 and concludes Sunday, September 4 in Salamanca, Spain, at the Convent of San Esteban Protomártir.

Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress, was invited to facilitate one of the workshops and to draft a policy paper that will form the basis for action by Dominican chapters, provinces, and congregations worldwide. Sister Pat's paper expands on human rights to include the rights of all of creation, drawing on her experience as founding director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, and on Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, Laudato Sí. 

The General Council asked two of our Sisters who work with children from displaced communities to participate: Basilia De la Cruz, OP, principal of Espíritu Santo Fe y Alegría School in Baní, Dominican Republic; and Jolyn "Jules" Dungo, OP, who ministers with the indigenous Aeta people at Villa Maria, Porac, Pampanga, in the Philippines. 

Also invited to the Congress are Luisa Campos, OP, champion of human rights and founding director of Centro Antonio Montesino in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Durstyne Farnan, OP, past Justice and Peace Promoter for North America, currently ministering in peace and justice with the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The international Congress is intended for Dominicans who work in human rights and social justice ministry, academics and scholars specializing in human rights, leaders and faculty members of Dominican universities, those who work with indigenous peoples, and experts in international law.

The historic convent is the site of the School of Salamanca, where Dominican Friar Francisco de Vitoria, informed by the experience of Dominicans such as Antonio de Montesinos and Bartolomé de las Casas, articulated the beginnings of international human rights law by challenging the harsh treatment of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Congress is intended to be part of the "Salamanca Process" initiated by the Dominican men at their last General Chapter to more closely link study and intellectual life with ministry. It will begin on Thursday evening with a keynote address by Bruno Cadoré, OP, Master of the Order.

Feature photo: Clockwise, from top left, Sisters Luisa Campos, OP, Durstyne Farnan, OP, Jolyn "Jules" Dungo, OP, and Basilia De la Cruz, OP, are all attending the Jubilee International Congress on the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights: Past, Present, and Future with Sister Pat Siemen, OP, Prioress.

December 2, 2015, Paris, France – Members of the worldwide Order of Dominicans on December 2 sent an open letter to delegates at the United Nations COP21 Climate Summit, held November 30-December 11 in Paris, France. 

The letter underscores the importance of arriving at a fair, ambitious, and binding agreement. It was drafted by 20 Dominicans, including four Maryknoll Sisters and three Lay Dominicans, representing Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

Read the letter, in English and Spanish.

Feature photo: Group members who recently crafted the open letter to COP21 delegates on behalf of the worldwide Order of Dominicans.