Peace & Justice History
Father Samuel Mazzuchelli
The Dominican Legacy
We are heirs to all the gifts of the Dominicans who have preceded us. The principles which motivated them and the values which their choices for action reflect serve as the roots which give us nourishment, and the wings inspire us to fly in the face of the evils of our day.
The Ground for Our Roots
Simon Tugwell, speaking of St. Dominic and his companion Diego, says that for them the Gospel was the standard against which everything else was to be measured. We are challenged by Gospel demands. That challenge means working toward the elimination of everything in our society that does not respect and sustain the basic dignity, fundamental rights, and decent quality of life for all.
St. Dominic
Dominic’s dedication to truth and to study are significant aspects of our inheritance. Dominic also understood poverty as the appropriate state for those who took on the preaching of the Gospel. The message of Dominic, preached in poverty, was directed toward those living in poverty. The personal witness of the preacher gave credence to the preaching. Dominic was clearly a person in touch with his society and his Church. He had an acute sense of the needs, hopes, desires, and aspirations of his contemporaries. Dominic called people together in a community of equals with a unique vision of leadership. The strength of the community was to provide for something more than individualism could accomplish. Through Dominic, we are rooted in truth, study, poverty, community, equality, and responsiveness to our times.
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Catherine of Siena was a Dominican who took risks. She also was known for her direct service: taking care of the sick, looking out for the destitute, and demonstrating no patience with anything that compromised the truth. Catherine confronted evil in the church and state institutions of her day. She worked to make peace. Her confrontations progressed toward peacemaking among individuals and groups in conflict. Through Catherine, we are rooted in risk taking, determination to confront evil and untruth, peacemaking, and service.
New World Roots
The first seeds of Dominican life planted in the soil of the lands which came to be called the Americas were sown among the great injustices of 16th-century colonialism. Pedro de Cordoba, a Spanish immigrant in Hispaniola, was the leader of the first Dominican community which arrived in 1510. That community composed the apocalyptic sermon which the young friar Antonio Montesinos preached in opposition to the slavery and genocide practiced against native peoples. Pedro and his brothers—not always supported by church authorities—battled doggedly on.
They lived in a slave hut like those of the natives. These friars found themselves preaching conversion more to their own countrymen than to the people whom they thought they had come to evangelize. Later, Bartolome de Las Casas, also a Spanish immigrant priest to Hispaniola and former slave owner, was converted by the Dominican preachers, joined the Order when he was nearly 40, and became the most well-known early defender of native people. He traveled back and forth to Spain pleading the cause of native peoples before the Spanish Crown.
Another Dominican, Francisco Vitoria, teaching at the University of Salamanca and informed by the pastoral experience of his brothers in the Americas, argued against the colonizing practices of the Spanish Crown. Although he never traveled to the so-called New World, Vitoria’s teaching in defense of basic human rights earned him a title which endures today: the Father of International Law.
Another 16th-century Dominican missionary, Antonio Valdevieso, also preached against the greed of the conquerors. Valdevieso was eventually made bishop of present-day Nicaragua where he continued to condemn the actions of his countrymen. In 1549, he was assassinated by an angry, drunken group of Spanish officers, all of them Christian. Through these first Dominicans in the Americas, we are rooted in intolerance of injustice, identification with the poor, and advocacy of human rights.
Father Samuel Mazzuchelli’s Planting
Nearly 300 years after the arrival of the first Dominicans to this hemisphere, Sinsinawa Dominican founder Father Samuel Mazzuchelli continued to plow his new homeland with the tradition of justice. Mazzuchelli acted on behalf of those without access to power. He said, “One who carries the word of truth ought to imitate the Divine Teacher who went about doing good by relieving the oppressed.”
Some of the most oppressed of Mazzuchelli’s day were native people. His correspondence and action on behalf of the human rights of native people are evidence that he recognized and responded to injustice. Mazzuchelli’s words also indicate his dismay over the economic inequality apparent in his times. As early as 1860, he predicted that “anarchy and bloodshed” may result from “the rapid growth of great fortunes held by a few at the expense and injustice of the many.” At another time he said, “It is evident, therefore, that the blessings which we individually possess are not intended for ourselves exclusively but are designed to be shared with those of our fellow creatures who are unprovided with the same blessings.”
Father Samuel also was commited to equality for women which was unusual for his era. His repeated emphasis on the importance of quality education for young women (comparable to that available to young men) is one indication of that commitment. Mazzuchelli established the initial civil corporation for the Congregation comprised exclusively of the Sisters—never including himself. There is consistent evidence that Father Samuel never interfered with the decision making of the early Sisters. When Father Samuel learned that the energies of the young community were being directed toward the domestic needs of some of his brother Dominicans instead of toward the educational needs of struggling immigrants, he objected strongly.
Mazzuchelli was also involved with the civic institutions of his times. He encouraged civic responsibility: “By the practice of acts of charity toward all who are near and dear to us, and by acquitting ourselves faithfully of all our religious and civic duties, we shall convince the world that we are in truth disciples of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.”
In Father Samuel’s valuing of the arts, another integral component of justice work is revealed. Both Mazzuchelli and our first Sisters made incredible sacrifices in hard times and in a rough frontier environment to make room for the promotion of beauty and life. Through Mazzuchelli, we are rooted in an intolerance of oppression based on race, gender, economic, and social conditions.
Sinsinawa Roots
The first Sisters of our Congregation were clearly women who were not easily discouraged by what must have appeared to be overwhelming odds. The Congregation’s history includes stories of the comings and goings of members of that early group, the physical hardships, the deaths of our founder and two of our leaders in 1864, and the withdrawal to Kentucky by their cornerstone, Sister Rachel Conway.
Deserving special note was the Sister’s struggle, not without substantial challenge, to shape an apostolic community life together which would enable them to respond to the signs of their times and the needs of the world. The Sisters consistently resisted those who would have them live a style of life unsuitable for the mission requirements of that day.
Through the lives of our Sisters from our first seven decades, Sinsinawa Dominicans are rooted in optimism and determination when odds seem insurmountable, and in responsiveness to the signs of the times and the needs of the world.
Modern Roots
The last few decades are closer to our experience and memory and so they seem to bulge with examples of Sisters’ works demonstrating that every ministry is an opportunity to work for justice. Attempting to highlight some activities, of course, has an unhappy consequence: the failure to celebrate every Sinsinawa Dominicans’ effort to create a more just world. Many Sisters have pointed out that, for much of their lives as Sinsinawa Dominicans, “social justice” or “peace and justice” were not carved out as special activities. Rather, they explain, “It was just the way we did things; it's what we were expected to do!”
Continuing to provide quality education, adjusting tuition costs for financially needy parents, serving meals to “knights of the road” at the convent back doors, carrying food to needy families, living in real personal and communal poverty—such realities reveal a deep commitment to charity and justice by Sinsinawa Dominicans over the decades.
The Sinsinawa Dominicans as individuals and as an institution have also sinned against the virtue of justice. Truth requires that we continue to admit, root out, and undo our own brands of violence, racism, sexism, oppression, materialism, and apathy.
Structural Roots
During the 1970s and 1980s, there was an increasing focus by Sinsinawa Dominicans on peace and justice issues. In 1982, the Sisters called for coordination of peace and justice efforts at the congregation level. In response, the position of Promoter of Peace and Justice was established in 1983 and Sister Toni Harris, OP, was appointed promoter.
The Sinsinawa Dominicans addressed issues including peacemaking, economic injustice, oppression of women, racism, and the plight of refugees. Various congregation committees were involved in social justice efforts. Sister Gerry O’Meara, OP, was appointed associate promoter in 1990. Committees which continued or began during these years included the Sinsinawa Network on Women’s Issues, the Racism Task Force, the Faith and Resistance Working Group, the Alternative Investment Advisory Committee, the Shareholder and Consumer Action Advisory Committee, and the regional Justice Promoters Network.
Sister Reg McKillip visits
with a woman in Iraq.
In 1994, the Sinsinawa Dominicans released the following statement on justice: “We commit ourselves to an intentional focus on justice as essential to Dominican mission. We will work for justice and peace through our ministries, with an emphasis on issues concerning race, women and children, the church and ecology.” In 1995, Sister Bernadine Karge, OP, was appointed Promoter of Peace and Justice. Sister Reg McKillip, OP, followed Sr. Bernadine as Promoter of Peace and Justice.
Continuing the Tradition
Currently, Sister Joy Peterson, PBVM, is Promoter of Peace and Justice. Our Dominican heritage grounds us in the need to work for truth and justice. This heritage also inspires us to face the injustices of today and the future. If we are faithful to our heritage and responsive to the times, together we will create a future for the generations to follow.