International Union of General Superiors Plenary Session
May 9 - 13, 2004
Women Disciples of Jesus Christ:
Bearers of Reconciliation in Our World

Sisters at the conference. Sister Jeanne M. Glisky is seated third from right.

From May 9 - 13, 2004 eight hundred women leaders from more than seventy countries met in Rome, Italy for the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) Meeting. The women members present represented more than one million women religious throughout the world. The leaders wrote a Declaration, committing themselves and the members of their institutes to a number of efforts to promote reconciliation. Among them were:

--work in collaboration with other associations for justice, resolution of conflict, and an end to war and all forms of violence

--announce stories of successful reconciliation and denounce violence and injustice by effectively utilizing the media

–create and promote initiatives of dialogue, understanding and reconciliation among different cultures and religions.

–intensify efforts toward healing reconciliation and right relationships between women and men, especially within the Catholic Church.

–as leaders, be reconciled and pledge to live in a spirituality of reconciliation.

Symbols of reconciliation

Scripture scholar Dianne Bergant, CSA, was the key note speaker. She focused on Biblical images and imperatives of reconciliation in our broken world and encouraged us to take a stand as agents of reconciliation in our own lives. She emphasized that we are in religious life not for ourselves but for the fulfillment of our mission to bring the Word of God to our current reality.

Archbishop Franc Rode, the new prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL), attended the session on May 11 and there was an opportunity for dialogue. He also celebrated the Eucharistic liturgy. The first female secretary of CICLSAL, Sister Enrique Rosanna, also attended and offered hopeful words about religious life.

Election Results

The newly elected officers are Sister Therezinha Rasera, SDS, president; Sister Rosemary Howarth, SSND, vice-president; and Sister Christine Barrier, MR, Sister Angelina Bridi, SNSIC, Sister Camilla Burns, SNDdeN, Sister Lorraine Marie Delaney, CSJ, Sister Amelia Kawajy, MB and Sister Elaine Morzone, MFIC, as members of the Executive Committee.

Important Resources

Symbols of reconciliation

I encourage you to visit the uisg.org web site and click on this link: www.uisg.org/English/caldeclaration04.html to obtain a copy of the new Declaration of WomenReligious Leaders - 2004 in its entirety.

I also encourage you to go to the Vidimus Dominum web site: www.vidimusdominum.org. Go to the Instrumentum Laboris link in the Congress 2004 section, which contains the Working Paper in preparation for the November 23-November 27 World Congress for Consecrated Life in Rome, Italy.

For more information about this UISG meeting (called a plenary), here is the website: uisg.org

In the spirit of our healing charism,
Sister Jeanne M. Glisky, SFP
Congregational Minister