Statement to Our Community from the Prioress 

June 8, 2020

Statement to Our Community from the Prioress 

As the Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, I am devastated, heartbroken, and deeply saddened as Mr. George Floyd’s memorials take place, and he is mourned by his family and friends. I hold each of them in my heart. Like so many others we can name, he was a victim of systemic racism. While I have no words that convey the grief I feel, saying nothing feeds the complicity of no response.

The Vision Statement for the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael states:

We reverence and affirm the inherent dignity of each person.

We will work for the transformation of attitudes and systems that deprive any person of dignity.

How can our commitment to our Vision Statement be renewed and deepened? I acknowledge that this Vision needs to be more than a printed statement. We as a congregation of Catholic sisters are called to deeper, even painful, conversations with each other and with those with whom we work and partner. We must each look within to examine our conscious and unconscious racism, fears, and advantage. We must listen to each other, hear the pain of the stories that need to be told, pray for reconciliation, and continue to work for justice.

I challenge us to sit in painful silence until the whisper of the Spirit moves us forward.

Peace,

Sister Carla Kovack, OP

Prioress