We, the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), are living the gospel call at a critical juncture in human history. Aware that the world’s future depends upon the decisions that are made in the next few years, we embrace our responsibility to make choices that support the good of all life on this planet. We also recognize that the state of US religious life is shifting and that significant decisions are before each of us that will impact the development of this vocational call.  

In light of these realities, we commit ourselves to:

  • Engage in practices and processes that foster the needed evolution of consciousness that will assure that all life on Earth has a future.
  • Integrate the work of justice into every aspect of our lives and ministries and use our collective voice and moral authority to effect systemic change. We place particular emphasis on the urgent work to dismantle racism in society, our religious institutes, and ourselves.
  • Support the emerging future of religious life as it reimagines its role in the world today, focusing particularly on the type of leadership and governance that will make this lifeform compelling and sustainable into the future.
  • Promote and practice leadership from a contemplative stance.

As we embrace this direction, we remain filled with hope, inspired by the radical call of the Gospel, and committed to discerning together the leading of God’s Spirit. Affirming LCWR’s mission, we embrace our time as holy, our leadership as gift, and our challenges as blessing.

References:

Artistic renderings of the entire call and the last paragraph of the call may be downloaded below.