Today the Dominican Sisters of Springfield in Peru and the United States affirm their support for a statement by the Conference of Religious Men and Women of Peru and pray for a peace in Peru during these critical days.
Yesterday, December 7, 2022, the Dominican Sisters of Springfield in Lima alerted their sisters in North America to the political crisis facing their nation and asked for our prayerful support.
Sister Beatriz Vila Alania, OP, who is based in Lima, wrote to the congregation “We’ve heard a lot of speculation of violence but for the moment we have not seen much around us. All students on the afternoon shift had their classes suspended as a precaution. It is a little calm now. We ask for prayers for our country.”
Below is the statement from the Conference of Religious Men and Women in Peru, affirmed by the congregations 180 sisters ministering in the U.S. and Peru.
Dominican Sisters of Springfield have had a presence in Peru since 1965. Seven members of the community are Peruvian nationals. The congregation is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year and is part of a worldwide Dominican family, the Order of Preachers. For more than 800 years, Dominicans have preached the Gospel in word and deed. Today, thousands of Dominican sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world.
PUBLIC STATEMENT: "Peru is bigger than its problems"
Faced with the country's political and democratic crisis, as consecrated religious who walk in the heart of our Peruvian people, we feel called to keep hope alive and we want to commit ourselves to find solutions for peace and reconciliation. We desire to be "sentinels of the trust-filled waiting during this time of advent," to work for the national unity in search of the common good, especially for those who live in poverty and exclusion in Peru.
Therefore, as representatives of the Conference of Religious Men and Women in Peru, we propose the following:
- We call on all political actors to restore the Constitutional order and the rule of law for the good of the citizens.
- We adhere to the path initiated by the Coalition of Citizens to begin basic reforms that allow us to guarantee the institutional democracy, the respect of the rights of the people, and political stability.
- We join the pronouncement of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference in its defense of democracy and in its call to maintain peace and calm in the population and to avoid the infringement of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
- We will remain vigilant through continual prayer and let ourselves be inspired by the “wisdom of the Divine Spirit” to discern where it is that the God of Life wants us as consecrated women and men in Peru, at this time.
Issued at Pueblo Libre, Peru, December 7, 2022
