What's Happening

January 6, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, and in solidarity with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States and the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR), the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council issued the following statement in response to the U.S. military actions in Venezuela.

The Adrian Dominican Sisters join the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in standing with all people whose lives are threatened by violence, war, and hatred. Rooted in our faith, we profess our unwavering belief in the dignity, value, and rights of every human person and our commitment to the sacredness of human life.

With deep concern for the people of Venezuela, we stand with LCWR in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR) and with the consistent teaching of the Church in opposing the use of military force as a means of resolving political and democratic crises. Violence and war do not bring peace; they deepen suffering, destabilize nations, and place the most vulnerable at greatest risk.

We affirm the power of dialogue, negotiation, and diplomacy over military action. We call upon the United States Congress to exercise its constitutional and moral responsibility to address any use of force that violates our shared commitment to protect and promote human life and the common good.

We urge the Administration and all members of Congress to cease any military involvement in Venezuela and to support international efforts that foster fair elections, a peaceful transfer of power, and conditions in which democracy can truly flourish. The people of Venezuela deserve the freedom to determine their own future without coercion, violence, or external domination.

We recognize that these same threats endanger other countries throughout Latin America, and we affirm our solidarity with all peoples whose sovereignty, dignity, and democratic aspirations are placed at risk by similar forces.

We also call upon people of faith to commit themselves to prayer for the people of Venezuela and for the discernment of global leaders, that decisions may be guided by wisdom, restraint, respect for human life, and a genuine concern for the common good.

As we are reminded in LCWR’s Response to These Times, this moment calls us to be women who remain informed, who listen deeply to all voices, and who engage in serious and prayerful discernment. We refuse to contribute to hatred, fear, division, or violence. Instead, we claim our moral authority as bearers of love and as people of hope, trusting that faithful action grounded in compassion and courage can shape a future worthy of our shared humanity.

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Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council are Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilor; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor.

November 18, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, the General Council issued the following statement in support of the recent pastoral message by the U.S. Catholic Bishops.

At their Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a “Special Pastoral Message” addressing their concerns about the “vilification of immigrants.” This “marked the first time in 12 years the USCCB invoked this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body of bishops,” their public affairs office noted.

As women of faith, we have been deeply concerned about the frightening and unlawful treatment of our neighbors – children, women, and men made in the image of God – through our government’s indiscriminate deportation of immigrants and arrest and detention of people of color, including citizens. We are grateful for this pastoral call of our U.S. bishops, and stand with them as they state:

· We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.

· We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.

· We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.

· We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.

· We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools.

· We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones. …

· We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.

We agree with our bishops that “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together.” We join them in urging “all people of good will to continue and expand” efforts undertaken by many Catholics “to accompany and assist immigrants.” We are grateful to the many priests who are using their pulpits to share stories of terrible abuses taking place in their parish neighborhoods and to exhort parishioners to take action in support of their immigrant neighbors.

We invite members of the public to join us for a presentation on What’s Happening with Immigration at our Motherhouse campus on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Weber Retreat and Conference Center, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan. It will be given by Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, JD, immigration attorney and founder of the Adrian Dominican Office of Immigration Assistance. The event is open to the public, free of charge, and available by livestream at adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

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Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council are Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilor; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor