JPIC

JUSTICE, PEACE and INTEGRITY OF CREATE

“The Bible teaches that every human being is created out of love, made in the image and likeness
of God (Gen. 1:26). This statement shows us the immense dignity of every human person, who
“is not just some thing, but someone. He is capable of knowing himself, possessing himself, freely
giving himself and entering into communion with other persons.” (Encyclical Letter – Laudato Sii)

Justice, peace and care for creation: this is what the commission we wanted to create within our Congregation is all about, made up of a number of sisters representing the various geographical areas of the Congregation. The desire that prompted us to set up this working group is to question ourselves, to confront ourselves, to find ways of concretely implementing justice, peace and care for creation.



Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God: it is from this Word that our desire to build peace where we are descends. It is in recognising that we are all children of one Father that the dream of building relationships where anger or fear is not fuelled, where we do not always have to fight to assert ourselves, belittling the other. In a world torn apart by violence and conflict, let us ask the grace of the Holy Spirit to teach us to build communion, which takes into account diversity and does not want to standardise it, but to make it a reason for mutual enrichment.

A feeling of intimate union with other beings of nature cannot be authentic if
at the same time in the heart there is no tenderness, compassion and concern for human beings. (Encyclical Letter – Laudato Sii – Pope Francis)

Our prayer to the Lord to ask for the gift of peace would not be authentic if it were not also linked to the request for the grace to be able to live it first of all in our relationships.


There is no peace without justice.


As Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, we want to be active protagonists in initiating new processes for a justice that takes care of those in need, those who have done wrong, those who seek a new possibility of life, of encounter. That is why we have set up a canteen for those in need, where people find not only food and drink, but a space in our lives, in us, where they are welcomed, listened to, supported, looked upon with love and respect. That is why every Thursday we sisters, together with the volunteers who run this service with us, set aside half an hour to simply be with our friends in the canteen. We are amazed by the stories they tell us, by their simple faith that evangelises us, by how precious even a smile we give can be. Justice is welcoming them by recognising their dignity as men and women, it is knowing their names, it is treating them with respect and kindness. Justice is also recognising how much good they do to us every time that, while they are telling us something, they stop and ask us: How are you? Justice is the gift of being able to welcome each other in our vulnerabilities, to grow together.


Our friends in the lunchroom teach us this.

    • Possa la nostra epoca essere ricordata per il risveglio di una nuova riverenza per la vita, per la
    risolutezza nel raggiungere la sostenibilità, per l’accelerazione della lotta per la giustizia e la pace,
    e per la gioiosa celebrazione della vita». (Lettera Enciclica – Laudato Sii – Papa Francesco)

    In a world where pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity and accumulation of waste frighten us, as Franciscan sisters we want to be a small but meaningful sign of hope, of care for creation, in all its manifestations. This is why we have decided to implement some simple “good practices” to protect creation: incentivising separate waste collection in our homes, limiting the use of plastic, sensitising guests and friends of our houses to be custodians of creation, increasing the use of renewable energy by installing solar panels, preserving natural resources by avoiding the use/abuse of water and paper.


    In particular, on the occasion of this year’s Laudato Sii week, our sisters from the “Santo Spirito” community in Rome gave a tangerine tree to the Palazzo migliore shelter-dormitory, which houses some thirty homeless people, right next to our shelter home.


    This gesture symbolised our desire to bear fruit, becoming more and more guardians of one another, custodians of the earth, to live everything as a gift and not as a possession.