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March 30, 2023, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, on behalf of the Sisters and Associates, released the following statement affirming the Vatican’s repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, which was used to justify the oppression of colonial powers over indigenous peoples.

We Adrian Dominican Sisters wholeheartedly affirm the step taken by the Vatican to repudiate the “Doctrine of Discovery,” a doctrine based on 15th century papal bulls created and used by colonial powers to justify their oppression of indigenous peoples and seizure of lands. It is a step that indigenous people around the globe have long pressed for and that we too joined in support.

The Vatican statement acknowledges that the papal bulls did not “reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples” and that it is “only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon.” 

The statement goes on to say, “Furthermore, Pope Francis has urged: ‘Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others.’”

We are deeply grateful to Pope Francis for his humble, open-hearted listening to our indigenous sisters and brothers; for honestly naming the Church’s errors; and for clearly calling us forward as human persons, all made in God’s image, never again “to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others.”

Members of the Adrian Dominican General Council are: Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Janice Brown, OP, and Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, General Councilors; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor.
 

March 30, 2023, Detroit – Adrian Dominican Sister Ellen Burkhardt, OP, and Associate Patricia Gillis were among about 50 Catholics who gathered March 21, 2023, at Gesu Catholic Church to speak out against air pollution and to advocate for stronger prevention regulations. 

The advocates attending “Detroit’s Dirty Air: A Moral Response” were asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower the allowance of soot from 9-10 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 8 micrograms. 

Sister Ellen, a panel member, urged U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan) to ask the EPA for an increase in penalties for companies who violate the pollution regulations. “What we’re asking for is greater enforcement, something that will matter to companies enough that they will change what they’re doing,” Sister Ellen said.

Patricia – co-founder with Sister Janet Stankowski, OP, of Detroit-based Voices for Earth Justice, a faith-based network of people concerned about the environment – was one of the organizers of the event. She saw the event as “a real coming together of science and religion.”

Read the entire article by Amy Ketner on Earthbeat, a project of The National Catholic Reporter. 

Feature photo at top shows Adrian Dominican participants Sister Ellen Burkhardt, OP, left, and Associate Patty Gillis, right.