Peace and Justice

Members of the Viatorian Province of Chicago are committed to promoting justice and peace in our world in a variety of ways.

At the provincial level, great care is taken to ensure that our investments do not support corporations that would be in conflict with Catholic Social Teaching.  The Center for Concern and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility are valuable resources that assist the provincial treasurer and the finance committee of the province in this area.

In recent years, the provincial council has endorsed statements regarding immigration, mining, torture, and nuclear weapons and has collaborated with other organizations such as 8th Day Center For Justice and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to publicize and address these issues.

A social justice portfolio makes financial assistance available for grassroots organizations advocating for the marginalized as well as emergency assistance for individuals and families with whom the membership ministers.   Additional funding for educational projects is provided from other community funds.  Funding is also allocated to support the congregation’s foundations in Belize, Colombia, and the Ivory Coast.  Grants for the 2009/2010 pastoral year included funding for health outreach to migrant workers in the Kankakee/Momence, IL area, a start-up business in Corozal Town, Belize, educational programming and tuition assistance for students St. Martin de Porres High School www.smdpwaukegan.org, a neighborhood health clinic serving low-income patients in Chicago, peace and justice activities at St. Viator parish in Las Vegas, food and medical supplies for parishioners in Viatorian parishes in Bogotá, Colombia, and education of young Viatorian religious in Ivory Coast.

At the parish level, concern for those “accounted of little importance” in today’s society is a priority.  Emergency food, rental assistance, medical assistance, clothing, and furniture are provided by a number of Viatorian parishes on a case-by-case basis.  Tuition scholarships are available at many of the parish schools.  Financial support for persons with HIV/AIDS, victims of natural disasters, sharing parishes, homeless shelters, Catholic Charities, and advocacy organizations is made available at various levels depending on the size of the parish.  

Saint Viator High School, www.saintviator.com, the sole Viatorian owned and operated school of the province in the United States, demonstrates its commitment to peace and justice in a number of ways. Each student is required to fulfill a service requirement prior to graduation. Financial scholarships are provided for 24% of the student population. $1,000,000 has been allocated for the 2009/2010 academic year.  Each year, six students are invited to become members of the Peacebuilders Initiative, a project of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL that promotes and support student peace and justice initiatives. 

A student group, Student Action Tribe, implements projects aimed at social injustices. Some of the projects are short-term and limited in time such as collecting books for Sudanese refugees, organizing a week-long anti-bullying campaign, or passing a petition to advocate for a death-row inmate. Some projects are long-term and become standing sub-groups such as STAND (Students Taking Action Now for Darfur).  In addition to having participated in a Chicago area wide rally, members of STAND hold monthly vigils in downtown Arlington Heights that call attention to the genocide taking place in Darfur.

Saint Viator High School Campus Ministry program invites students to respond to the needs of others, especially the marginalized, by serving at soup kitchens, food pantries, and Habitat for Humanity.  A Lenten Campaign raises $15,000 that supports Viatorian foundations as well as projects administered by service agencies.  Finally, students contribute to a weekly Make-A-Change collection that is used to assist Catholic Charities clients who are in need.  

Viatorians have joined with others at Fort Benning, Georgia, calling for the closure of the U.S. Army’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as School of the Americas.  Graduates have been linked to the murder, rape, and torture of civilians in their own countries.  El Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero’s assassins have been linked to this institution.  Viatorians continue to call for the closing of the institute. 

In an effort to respond to the U.S. led invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, Families For Peace, a Viatorian co-sponsored peace group, has been sponsoring a   monthly silent vigil for the past five years.  It is their belief that war is not the answer as violence only begets more violence.

Lastly, individual Viatorians financially support and participate in numerous local, national, international organizations that seek to alleviate suffering and injustice.