Section:
justice & peace
“The brothers and sisters are to love God with their whole heart, their whole soul and mind and with all their strength, and to love their neighbor as themselves. Sent into the world, they should give witness by word and work to God’s voice and make known to all that only God is all-powerful… As they announce peace with their lips, let them be careful to have it even more within their own hearts.” TOR Rule Chapter 9
I accompanied a group of 14 students, as well as Melissa Hickey, the campus 
minister, from Neumann College to Fort Benning, Georgia to join in a peaceful, prayerful opposition to the School of the Americas (SOA), a combat- training school for Latin American soldiers. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, and assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into refuge by graduates of the SOA.
We joined 12 of our Sisters of St. Francis—sisters who annually attend this vigil in hope of closing the school—and thousands of people from different faith traditions. Many college and high school students from around the country joined in the peaceful vigil also.
Neumann college students have been attending the vigil for the past several years. They have learned of the atrocities and have wanted to be a presence for peace. They are also aware of the words of St. Francis of Assisi which they see posted in the Campus Ministry Center: “Preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary.” The students have taken these words to heart and wanted to be a voice for peace. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
The first day of the trip was spent visiting the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolence in Atlanta. We prayed before the Martin Luther King Memorial site and also at the site of the eternal flame. There that we took a pledge of nonviolence. It was a very powerful experience for each of us as we remembered Martin Luther King’s message of justice and peace and the need to continue the work for justice in our present day—both as people of faith and also as followers of St. Francis and the Franciscan tradition.
We spent the two days at the gates of the School of the Americas in a peaceful 
and prayerful demonstration to speak for those innocent persons—our brothers and sisters in Central and South America—who have no voice. Prior to the prayer vigil on Sunday, we painted crosses with the names of persons who have been tortured and killed. On Sunday, during a solemn procession of thousands of people, the names of these persons were read out loud. We all responded, “Presente,” and raised our white crosses, symbolizing the silent presence of these people among us. We were also conscious that God’s love calls each of us to be a “healing, compassionate presence.”
Our world is in so much need of peace right now and this was one way for us as Franciscans—both as Sisters of St. Francis and as students at our Franciscan college, to witness to that peace which we are called to as stated in our TOR rule: “As they announce peace with their lips, let them be careful to have it even more within their own hearts.” (TOR Rule Chapter 9)
