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April 7, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, the General Council of the Congregation has issued the following statement, calling for building a beloved community among the American people in the face of the many dehumanizing executive actions and decisions of the Trump Administration.
Since President Trump took office more than two months ago, we have been deeply pained and alarmed by executive actions and orders that challenge our fundamental values and commitments as women of faith in the Catholic and Dominican traditions.
When we Adrian Dominican Sisters gathered in 2022 to set our direction for the next six years, we made a commitment to “build the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger and hate.” We called ourselves to the task of dismantling unjust systems “that oppress, dehumanize and deny the image of God in each of us and Earth community.” We committed ourselves to “acknowledge and repent of our complicity in the divisions prevalent in our Church and our world.”
We felt called to make these commitments by the Gospel imperative to love one another as God loves us. We also felt called by the Dominican motto of Veritas – Truth – honored by all members of the world-wide Order of Preachers, founded in the 12th century by St. Dominic.
In the past 11 weeks, we have witnessed a staggering array of orders issued by the White House and its agents with deeply troubling impacts that oppress and dehumanize persons, deny the image of God in each of us, and dangerously divide us as a nation and global community.
We have witnessed these dehumanizing impacts in the harsh treatment of refugees and immigrants, some of whom were arrested and, without due process, deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. We have witnessed them in the disturbing termination of visas, without notice, of law-abiding international students – some of whom, shockingly, were apprehended by masked agents, whisked away in unmarked vehicles, and flown to Louisiana to be held in detention centers.
We have witnessed dehumanizing impacts in the erasure from museums, national parks and government websites of our nation’s history of racism – a shameful history we had finally begun to acknowledge as truth. We similarly witnessed it in the erasure of unknown and well-known stories highlighting the heroism and ingenuity of Black, Native American, Hispanic, LGBTQ+ and other historically marginalized Americans, including women. “Across the federal government,” NPR reports, “agencies have been scrubbing photographic and written references about women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community from their websites.” Transgender and non-binary persons have “faced the most consistent removal from government websites,” according to NPR. Transgender persons, made in the image of God like all human beings, are the explicit targets of several dehumanizing executive orders, including one barring them from military service.
We have witnessed dehumanization in the blunt firing, without cause, of more than 24,000 workers in 18 federal agencies, according to CBS News, some with outstanding performance evaluations. These firings are creating immediate hardships for laid-off federal workers and their families.
The firings will also soon impact the wellbeing of ordinary Americans served daily – in visible and invisible ways – by the wide range of critical services government workers provide. These include programs that prevent the spread of infectious diseases; ensure the safety of our food and drugs; respond to natural disasters; uphold standards of education and the availability of libraries, museums, the arts and sciences; ensure consumer protection; offer food and shelter for those in need and Meals on Wheels for elders; provide mental health care; protect our water, air, fish and wildlife habitats; and care for veterans and first responders, among many other essential services.
We are witnessing the dehumanizing impact of White House orders in the alarming dismantling of the Social Security Administration, the nation’s largest government program. The draconian workforce reductions, closure of offices, and new ID demands on beneficiaries pose a clear and present danger to the health and wellbeing of millions of elderly Americans who have worked all their lives, paid into the system, and now rely on social security checks to cover their basic housing and food needs.
We are witnessing division and discord – as well as dangerous economic instability – in the stunning levy, without rationale, of tariffs on nations across the world. Among its disturbing impacts, the U.S. tariffs are bringing an end to a decades-long global era of “alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect” with a “free and open exchange of goods,” as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney remarked.
All of these and other deeply concerning White House actions run counter to our commitments as Dominican women of faith to build a beloved community – and are undermining the democratic values and ideals we hold dear as U.S. citizens.
We call on members of Congress to exercise their Constitutional authority to uphold the programs, agencies and departments that they, our elected leaders, enacted on behalf of and for the good of the American people. If members of Congress wish to upend them, the House and Senate have clear legislative means to do so in ways that comport with our nation’s ideal of a government of, by and for the people.
We pray that the goodwill characteristic of the American people of all faith traditions will call us to kinder, more compassionate, respectful, and generous ways of being good caring neighbors to one another – and to all the other beautifully diverse peoples of the world’s nations, neighbors in our common Earth home.
Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council are Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, and Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilors; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor.
I thank our Council for this statement. I believe these times and days call us to speak the truth. We add our prayers for our Nation and for Peace for our world.
Life is hard enough in life without additional boundaries set by this administration. Especially when they try to reduce our ability to strive. I pray that our Lord God watch over us all. Especially for all our diverse community. Thanks Sister for all you do.
Dear Sisters,I am proud to say that I was educated by the Adrian Dominican Sisters for 12 years!St. Suzanne Elementary School and Rosary High School. The intellect, compassion, commitment to justice of these strong women has always been characteristic of the order.I am so grateful for their leadership once again, in calling us all to speak out now in opposition of the cruelty and recklessness of the Trump administration.
Thank you for your eloquent statement of faith and for calling out actions that violate the very foundations of Christianity. I can only beg that you publicize this statement beyond your web page. The world needs to hear this message. Perhaps it will raise the conscience of those in positions of power.
Dear Sisters, Having attended Marywood Academy in Grand Rapids from K-8 grade (1966-1975), I have experienced the love and compassion of the Dominican Sisters. I fully support this statement. Thank you for bringing this statement forward. God Bless your congregation.
Dear Sisters,Thank you for taking a principled stand against the heinous acts of this administration. I am proud to have been educated by Adrian Dominican Sisters at Regina Dominican High School. I carry the lessons I learned there with me today as an attorney working defending human and legal rights in the immigration space. Thank you for all you do.
Dear Sisters,Your public statement is thorough, well thought out and reflects the Christian beliefs on which I was raised. Thank you for publicly presenting this testimony.Sincerely,Kym Lamley RiesSiena Heights University alumni
Thank you for acknowledging all the disturbing injustices (really crimes) being done by our government! We are demonstrating, calling and writing our leaders, sending postcards, and more. *Please* tell me there is more you can offer than prayers. Fourteen years of Catholic education taught me that prayer and action have to go together to be effective.
So well said. I agree. We cannot deny basic human rights & must never accept the dismantling of our democracy or the attempt to erase our history.
Thank you for being fearless and faith-filled in speaking truth. Praying with you for peace and resolution to this mad, power-crazed administration and their senseless, cruel, inhumane actions.
Thank you for this insightful pro-life comment. Indeed in the Chicago Catholic weekly newspaper three issues back Cardinal Cupich specifically writes that Trump's policies will bring "Death" to many, many people throughout the world who are poor. I was taught by Adrian Dominicans in Harvey, Illinois in the 1950's and 1960's. I am proud to know that they and Cardinal Cupich, my archbishop, are speaking and writing the truth.
Dear Adrian Dominican Sisters, Thank you for witnessing the love and truth of Jesus Christ, the word made incarnate, as we proceed through this dark time in the U.S. and it the world. Your light shines brightly. I needed that light this morning. I am grateful to God for you. Carey
I concur with the entire statement and am so very grateful for this proclamation.I will live it, I will pray it and I will spread the word as best I can.Thank you again.nancyann
Thank you for this! As a fellow Catholic woman horrified by what I see happening in our country, I so very much appreciate you speaking out. This is particularly true as I sadly see so few within the church who are willing to take the risk to do so!Yes indeed, we must build the beloved community to stand with each other for the gospel values!
Thank you, Sisters!
I support your mission that you are fearless in making a difference in this world. Without wavering you stand for the lord in peace and truth. To be united not divided and in in justice for all no matter your color, creed, sexual preference or financial status. You believe in justice and fairness. I stand with you in serving ❤️ Blessed are those that in action push through and come out on the other side to make a positive difference with Love
Thank you for your stance! I support your efforts 100%!Keep up your efforts and prayers for a just, humane world!
To the Adrian Dominican Sisters,I want to thank you for speaking truth to the situation in which we find our country. Thus statement sheds a light in the chaos for the people who seek truth and a just world.As a retired 76 year old Black woman public school educator, I have been vitally engaged in public service. Drawn by the spirit of openness of Vatican II and the counsel of Bishop Gumbleton, I served the world community for 5 years as a Black member of the Sisters of the IHM(one of only 4? in their history).With the greatest admiration for my sisters, I grew into a woman of service. I even had the privilege of knowing the Berrigan brothers on mission in Baltimore during Vietnam war. I then worked as an urban public school teacher until retirement.This backdrop is why, all these decades later as the US has faltered into fascism, I so appreciate this statement from your Congregation. We will not be silent. We will not be complicit.Thank you, Adrian Dominicans, for your witness to the truth of love and humanity! Hopefully, the Church will take note and again follow the path of the Gospel of Jesus. I have faith that the spirit of humanity will triumph.STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO US ALL🌍☮️!Patt Taylor Braxton
Thank you Sisters for your powerful and true statement. If we don’t stand up for those being marginalized, will anyone be left to stand by me when I am next to be attacked and dehumanized. God save America
Thank you so much for expressing so well everything that I feel. Thank you for being such a solid beacon of light in these very dark times!
Thank you Sisters for your statement challenging the current administration's dehumanizing executive actions and trashing of our American values and our Constitution of equal justice under the law, and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am a 1964 graduate of Rosary High School in Detroit and have always credited the Adrian Dominican Sisters who were my teachers and mentors for nurturing my moral conscience and instilling the values of Love thy Neighbor, as Yourself "and #Whatever you do to the least of My brethren you do to Me". I remember always our praying together for peace in the world and being urged to do whatever one could in their own sphere to make that reality. Your statement at this critical time in our country makes me hopeful that we will get through this threat to our American democracy and come out on the other side a better nation. Again, a million thanks!
Thank you, Sisters, for putting out this well written message. There are many of us who stand behind these words 100%.
This statement is completely wrong. Fixing fraud abuse is the way it should be. To many politicians are becoming millionaires by fraud As a practicing Catholic I would hope you would not bow to the left wing progressives, liberals. Such a shame.
Thank you for your voice in this unsettling time. Focusing on God's words and deeds should help one examine their actions in moving forward. I have shared this statement and know it will be met with scorn. I can't be silent in my fears. God bless your strength and work. 😇✌️🤘🙏
We, our entire family, are in 100% agreement with you Sisters!! We are so very grateful for your vocal stance on these important issues, and will continue to follow your lead!!We march, we participate in days of no purchases, we refuse to do business with businesses that support the Felon and his vile administration, we contact our legislators multiple times a week, and will do whatever we can do to stop this evil administration!!Please keep posting anything you think we all could do to follow your lead. You are all greatly appreciated.
this is a gift from God to receive this from you today. Thank you for praying for all of us. I join you in those prayers.
Thank you Adrian Dominican Sisters for this statement. My hope is that every Catholic and every person of good will take pause in this moral moment. Our Creator has given us all the ability to see and know the true, the good and the beautiful. Right now we are witnessing and experiencing the exact opposite. May we take this message of clarity and amplify it through our communities of faith, and may it be heard and heeded by those who have the power to change the course. Our three daughters are proud graduates of Regina Dominican HS in Wilmette, IL which instilled in them Veritas and Caritas. God Bless! Dave McNaughton Chicago, IL
I am honored to be an Adrian Dominican Assiciate. I will continue my fidelity to the Charism.