What's Happening

By Sister Cheryl Liske

November 30, 2016, Rome – Sister Cheryl Liske, OP, a community organizer in Detroit, attended the third World Meeting of Popular Movements in November. The following is her report and reflection on this experience.

In the opening panel of the World Meeting of Popular Movements (WMPM) this November in Rome, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, quoted Pope Francis as naming two “fragilities” in our world: the poor and Earth – two faces, he said, of the same challenge.

The WMPM is a series of gatherings of grassroots people, organizers, and activists who have been called together by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to advise the pope and the world – out of their own “faith, wisdom, and integrity” – as to how to meet this one challenge with two faces. The most recent gathering in Rome was the third in the series; the fourth will be in Modesto, California, February 16-19, 2017. 

The gathering consists of more than 200 participants from 68 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The delegates come from diverse backgrounds in the “informal economy,” such as street vendors in South America, European migrants, migrant workers in China, slum dwellers in India, recyclers of our waste in a number of African countries and New York, and the informal transit providers in Africa.

My community organizing network, the Gamaliel Network, as well as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, invited me – along with Ms. Patricia Williams from Metropolitan Organizing Strategy for Enabling Strength (MOSES) of Detroit – to be part of the 15-member U.S. delegation. We were chosen because of our work with people relegated to the margins in the urban areas of the United States.

At the end of the meeting, we presented proposals to Pope Francis. The proposals called for the rejection of the privatization of water; opposition to genetic manipulation or patenting, especially on seeds; a universal social salary for every worker (private, public, or popular); and the eradication of evictions that leave families without housing. 

The WMPM participants pledged to work with Pope Francis to turn these ideas into real and effective rights locally, nationally, and internationally. Pope Francis’ response was widely reported in the international press. An article in America Magazine by Gerard O’Connell relates this of Pope Francis’ address:

In a powerful, one might even say revolutionary talk to participants at the third World Meeting of Popular Movements, Pope Francis denounced “the basic terrorism that derives from the global control of money on earth, threatens the entire humanity and gives rise to other terrorisms.” It also gives rise to fear, the building of walls and other forms of exclusion, including of immigrants.

I was privileged to be part of this gathering and found it a fitting end to the Year of Mercy.

By Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life

November 23, 2016, Miami, Florida – Four new Adrian Dominican Associates were accepted into Associate Life during two separate Rites of Acceptance at Barry University during Founders’ Week. All four serve on the faculty or in the administration of Barry.

The annual week in November celebrates the university’s Adrian Dominican heritage and its foundation by Mother Gerald Barry, OP, then Prioress of the Congregation; The Most Reverend Patrick Barry, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida; Monsignor William Barry, pastor of St. Patrick Parish on Miami Beach; and John (Jack) Graves Thompson, Mayor of Miami Shores. 

Carmen McCrink and Michael Provitera were formally accepted during the Founders’ Week Mass on November 14.

Carmen, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Higher Education Administration, teaches doctoral students in leadership and education and higher education administration. She enjoys teaching the History of Education course, which includes the contributions of St. Thomas Aquinas to the founding of medieval universities.

Born in Cuba, Carmen moved to the United States with her family in 1962. Her hope is to continue to share the Dominican charism with her students and co-workers.

As professor of organizational behavior, Michael instructs students on helping veterans and the poor and founded the Coalition of Children’s Book Authors, which has sent brand new books to the people of Tanzania. He wrote the book Mastering Self-Motivation: Preparing Yourself for Personal Excellence.

Michael brings an enthusiasm to all that he does, and is ready to share the Dominican charism with his students, co-workers, and family, including his wife, Erin, and daughters Janet and Lauren.

Christopher (Kit) Starratt and Gerene (Gerry) Starratt were welcomed as Adrian Dominican Associates on November 16 at Barry University. Photo by Thierry Lach

Christopher (Kit) Starratt and Gerene (Gerry) Starratt – married for 42 years – were welcomed as new Associates during a ritual on November 16. They have three adult children and are active in their parish, St. Jerome, in Fort Lauderdale.

Kit, Vice President for Mission and Institutional Effectiveness, has served at Barry since 1993. His ministry is to increase the level of our Dominican heritage at Barry by establishing programs to facilitate this process. A clinical neuropsychologist, he noted, “I have found that education is a powerful tool to alleviate human suffering and to combat social injustice."

Gerry, an associate professor of education, teaches methodology and statistics for the School of Education and serves as a dissertation advisor. “Our family values – and my personal values – are aligned with the mission and vision of the Adrian Dominican Sisters,” she said in explaining her attraction to Associate Life. She is a member of her parish’s Chancel Choir and Women’s Emmaus Ministry and makes and repairs rosaries.

The new Associates were mentored by Sisters Mary Fran Fleischaker, OP, Mary Tindel, OP, and Evelyn Piche, OP. Dr. Roxanne Davies, Associate Vice President for Mission and Institutional Effectiveness, facilitated the formation sessions taught by the Sisters and Associates at Barry. They will work with a new group of prospective Associates, who will study the Dominican charism and discern Associate Life.

Feature photo: Carmen McCrink and Michael Provitera, new Adrian Dominican Associates from Barry University, listen as Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, leads the November 14 Rite of Acceptance. Photo by Thierry Lach