Why Cameroon??? It is one of the places around the world in the midst of conflict and where our Dominicans and communities are under direct threat and barely is noticed by world peace observers. Cameroon is home members of all of the branches of the Dominican Family who face struggles in a country now divided with some 25% of the land controlled by paramilitary groups, where our Nuns and members of the Dominican Laity live within the separatist region. We have members of the Dominican Order serving on both sides of the separation. Cameroon has a Colonial Legacy that dates back to it’s division between British and French colonial powers. This union has a continuous history of tensions in economic marginalization, linguistic and cultural differences and political dominance of the French Cameroon majority over the English Cameroon minority. These tensions heightened to an armed conflict from 2016 and is ongoing and has led to widespread human rights abuses, including killings, abductions, attacks on schools and other public institutions and private properties by both government forces and separatist groups. One focus of the Month of Peace will seek to shed light on the conflict and our Dominican Monastery which has become a site of refuge. Bambu is where the Dominican nuns live is located in the outskirts of Bamenda, North West region of Cameroon, one of the largest cities in English Cameroon and the hardest hit region of the conflict. This project is hence located in the Bambui Dominican monastery. During the conflict, the monastery has become a refugee site for internally displaced persons. The Dominicans need outside support to repair this critical refuge. We are grateful for your efforts on behalf of the worldwide order to help lift up Cameroon and its people for dignity and respect through this project!

Fr. Brendan A. Curran, O.P. North American Dominican Co-Promoter for Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace

Month of Peace: Pray for Cameroon

Corporate Justice Stances

Our congregation’s ministry, prayer and policies are grounded in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Constitutions of our Congregation. Gospel values challenge us to publicly stand in solidarity with the “young, the poor, and the vulnerable.” We witness our faith by rejecting activities or practices that deliberately abuse, destroy, or deny our sacred humanity or the beauty and abundance of God’s creation. Below are the public stances embraced and endorsed by members of our Congregation.

Grounded in God, we commit
to be women of hope and peace in the face of violence.
In Christ Jesus, we take a long, loving look at what is real
and respond with mercy and justice.

We live in a world of sacred diversity.

The Gospel call us to go to the margins as missionary disciples.
Our pilgrimage of the heart invites
us to a deeper understanding of culture as an act of justice,
honoring diversity in a globalized world.

We work for the sustainability of Earth, our sacred home,
conscious that we are interdependent with all of creation.

--Excerpt Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose 25th General Chapter Direction Statement 2016

Corporate Justice Stances

Corporate Stance to Abolish the Death Penalty

In Support of Abolishing the Death Penalty: We, the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, an international Congregation of consecrated women, affirming the sacredness and dignity of all human life, oppose the death penalty as immoral.

In so doing, we stand in solidarity with Pope Francis, Dominicans throughout the world, other religious Congregations, and all people who call for the abolition of the death penalty on religious, moral, or humanitarian grounds.

We commit to working toward an end of state sanctioned killing by:

Learning as much as possible about the issue of the death penalty
Standing against the culture of violence prevalent in our society
Addressing issues of restorative justice
Reaching out in compassion to the victims
Reaching out in compassion to the accused
Reaching out in compassion to the families of victims and families of the accused to support them in their loss and pain

Corporate Stance in Opposition to Human Trafficking

We, the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, an international congregation of consecrated women, stand in support of human rights by opposing trafficking of all persons, especially of women and children, for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor.

We commit:

To Congregation wide prayer for the end of the grave injustice of trafficking of persons for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor
To educate ourselves and others regarding the magnitude, causes and consequences of this abuse
To collaborate with advocacy groups (i.e., our Non-Governmental Organization affiliations, the Dominican Sisters Federation USA, the Dominican Leadership Conference, other religious congregations, the United States
To advocate for policies and programs that address the prevention of trafficking and/or provide alternatives to women and children in danger of being trafficked
To collaborate in the support of recovery programs for those entrapped, and to support healing presence for
To use our economic power, our strength as consumers and investors to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society, a society that works against incentives for trafficking

Corporate Stance Against Nuclear Arms

As an international Congregation, we the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, stand in opposition to a United States pre-emptive strike against Iraq or any other nation. We implore the United States to respect the United Nations process. We are committed to this in view of the Gospel mandate for peace, justice, and the care of life.

Corporate Stance for Human Rights

We, the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, acknowledge and denounce specific violations of human rights in our day:

Exploitation and violence against women and children, trafficking of persons,
Violations against the free determination of indigenous persons: their culture, land, natural resources,
Indifference to the plight of immigrants and situations of domination against human life,
Unjust incarceration and the use of torture, violence against human life.

In 1511, Fray Antonio de Montesinos, a Dominican friar, preached an impassioned sermon in Hispaniola denouncing the inhumane treatment of the indigenous in America. Since then Antonio de Montesinos has been an inspiration for Dominicans and many others to raise their voices for the cause of peace and justice. Photo credit: dominicos.org.