Mission Statement: 

To invite all members of the Marianist Family into a process of

exchange, reflection and prayer about racism and culture.

Vision Statement: 

That our Marianist Family operate as a part of the Body of Christ

that is free from the constructs of racism.    

Working to End Racism and Discrimination

The Hurricane of Racism by Fr. Ted Cassidy, SM.    Fr. Ted Cassidy’s new book The Hurricane of Racism promotes itself as a guide to conquering racism.  It begins by describing racism as a dysfunctional system created by human beings and able to be dismantled by human beings.  The book walks through this dysfunctional system and gives practical steps for groups and individuals to work towards being anti-racist. Get yours at a special introductory MSJC price of $10.  To receive a copy, please contact Fr. Ted Cassidy at tcassidy@capemaymarianists.org

Read "Are You a Social Sinner?" by Fr. Bryan Massingale.  This article is a great introduction to Catholic social teaching, especially as it relates to racism.

Marianist Family Council Adopts Pledge to Eliminate Racism

Members of the Marianist Family and friends are invited to help undo racism by making a commitment to a Pledge to Eliminate Racism.

To do so, individuals, communities, and institutions are invited to:

1.      mention one way they have already worked against racism,

2.      mention a new way they plan to combat it.

You can download the Pledge by clicking Here.  We encourage you to print out a copy, sign and return it to MSJC.  Or you can email your response to apsjustice@hotmail.com. We will post responses on the MSJC website and publish them in Family Online as an encouragement to all Marianists in this important effort.

The Marianist Family Council of North America adopted this pledge and has placed the Marianist Family on record as committed to working to eliminate racism.  In a letter dated Jan. 17, 2005, the holiday commemorating Martin Luther King Jr., the Council called all members of the Marianist Family to “make a Pledge to eliminate racism and welcome the gifts of other cultures.”

Their action was the culmination of many months’ work by the Anti-Racism Issue Team which developed the Pledge.  The Marianist Family Council of North America consists of two leaders each from the Marianist Sisters, the Society of Mary and the Marianist Lay Network.

Also available are the files listed below:

·        Letter from the Marianist Family Council about the Pledge

·        Marianist Prayer for Ending Racism

·        What Marianists Can Do About Racism

·        Background Document – “Celebrating Marianist Hospitality: A Pledge to Renounce the Sin of Racism and Welcome the Gift of Cultures in Our Midst”

Pledge to Eliminate Racism

We, the members of the Marianist Family of North America,

both lay and religious:

 the Marianist Lay Network,

 the Daughters of Mary Immaculate,

and the Society of Mary,

wholeheartedly commit ourselves to the gospel of our Lord Jesus

by pledging to be models of solidarity against the sin of racism. 

We pledge ourselves to model Mary’s warmth of welcome

to God and to others

by welcoming the gifts of the various cultures in our midst.

Responses to the Pledge to Eliminate Racism

Here are a few Responses to the statement "Ways that I/our community have/has worked against the sin of racism and welcomed the gifts of other cultures."  To read all of the responses please click on the Responses to the Pledge to Eliminate Racism document in the Anti-Racism Files. 

We have served meals at a homeless shelter in Philadelphia, focused on the theme of racism at community meetings, and assisted with housing reconstruction in inner city areas of Trenton NJ and Chester PA. (Maranatha Lay Marianist Community - Philadelphia PA)

We enage in conversation with people in the neighborhood.  In school we check to see if any yelling is based on race. (Marcella Road Marianist Community - Cleveland OH)

The Insititute of Integrated Rural Development (IIRD) is a model of community, welcoming members of the various religious in the country, having members of the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist faiths.  Volunteers and visitors have also been equally welcomed, whether from Africa, other Asian countries, No. America, Latin America, Europe or Australia.  (William Christensen SM - Dhaka, Bangladesh)

The staff of the Marianist Family Retreat Center has sponsored for five years an annual Diversity Night at which we have welcomed peoples of various races and cultures.  The last was celebrated on March 15, 2005 with potluck supper, prayer, music and two speakers who spoke about neighborhood organizing in Camden NJ (Marianist Family Retreat Center staff - Cape May Pt. NJ)

Currently we are:

-Recruiting women of varying races/cultures to the FMI;

-Inviting and welcoming women of varied cultures to our table;

-Defending people of other races/cultures when people we work with express prejudice, e.g., comments, etc.

-Reflecting our diversity on provincial and international leadership teams.

(Our Lady of the Pillar Marianist Sisters Community - San Antonio TX)

Additional steps I/our community will take to combat racism and welcome the gifts of other cultures:

       Each member will work on personal racism issues and hold one another accountable by sharing their individual efforts at regular community meetings. (Marishka Lay Marianist Community - Cincinnati OH)

   We will:

-Cultivate an awareness and appreciation of differences in other cultures;

-Be aware and sensitive about how our speech can convey prejudice;

-Display more artwork from other cultures;

-Send greeting cards from other cultures and those with Mary depicted as a woman of other cultures - search for images on the Internet and in other resources;

-Work on learning different languages;

-Develop prayer services which include multi-cultural prayers, music, etc.;

-Take the initiative, be outgoing and receptive to opportunities to meet people of other cultures and invite them to our community;

-The Office of Instruction and individual sisters are encouraged to help us be aware of multi-cultural opportunities and experiences as they become available;

-We are each encouraged to choose a foreign FMI community with whom we would keep in contact. (Our Lady of the Pillar Marianist Sisters Community)

I am part of the Durbin to Dayton Summit on Racism, a community-wide attempt to look at practices and solutions in the Dayton community.  I am a member of the subcommittee on law, which is in some disarray.  I hope to help bring the group back to life, working with Prof. Vernelia Randall of the UD School of Law. (AJ Wagner, Dayton OH)

This brief overview of the work of the Anti-Racism /Ethnic Discrimination Issue Team leads to our next step, some questions to you, the readers.