In recent days, people throughout the world have been outraged by the horrendous conditions in which migrant children are being held in detention centers in the United States, and by the rising anti-immigrant rhetoric and threads of wide-spread raids. “As Sisters of Charity whose first ministries were institutions of welcome to immigrants, we feel a responsibility to respond,” said the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. And so, during their recently finished General Assembly, they published the following Public Statement:

The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth affirm the dignity of all persons. In light of this fundamental belief and our charism of Charity, we deplore the conditions imposed on those who are held in detention centers at our border and in other locations. In particular, we object to the undue detention of children, their separation from their families, and the unhealthy and inadequate conditions in which they are held. We advocate for the just and compassionate treatment that all children deserve and the immediate reuniting of children with their families.

We call upon federal, state, and local authorities to provide for the basic necessities of all detainees including medical care and legal services. We, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, commit ourselves to collaborate with others in advocating for immediate change and long-range solutions to this humanitarian crisis at our border.

Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth General Assembly,
June 30, 2019