October 11, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, the Leadership Council issued the following statement on the International Day of the Girl Child, calling for gender equality and an end to the subordinate status of women and girls.
Statement of Leadership Council of Adrian Dominican Sisters
on International Day of the Girl Child
On this UN International Day of the Girl Child, we Adrian Dominican Sisters bring forth the commitment we made at our 2022 General Chapter to “strive to attain gender equality and women’s full and equal participation and decision-making in Church and society.” Our commitment is centered on valuing human dignity and our awareness of “the injustice of patriarchy which maintains the subordinate status of women and girls throughout the world.”
We invite prayerful reflection in this national election season on issues impacting women and girls in our own country. We also invite prayerful reflection at the historic Synodal gathering underway in Rome on the equal dignity of all the baptized in the Church – and on a statement in the concluding report of the first Synod assembly last October, agreed to by a “vast majority of responses,” which said, “It is urgent to ensure that women can participate in decision-making processes.” (See “Participation of Women in the Life and Mission of a Synodal Church,” p. 9, USG-UISG Contribution, Synod 2024.)
Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters convene in a General Chapter every six years to elect a new leadership team and set the Congregation’s direction.
Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Leadership Council include Sisters Bibiana Colasito, OP, General Councilor; Margaret Coyne, OP, Chapter Prioress; Sara Fairbanks, OP, Mission Prioress; Judith Friedel, OP, Chapter Prioress; Elise D. García, OP, Prioress of the Congregation; Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, Mission Prioress; Marie Yolanda Manapsal, OP, Chapter Prioress; Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilor; Mary Priniski, OP, Chapter Prioress; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor; and Mary Soher, OP, Mission Prioress.
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The Dominican Sisters of Adrian, a Congregation of about 385 vowed women religious and nearly 200 Associates, traces its roots back to St. Dominic in the 13th century. The Sisters minister in 21 states, the Dominican Republic, Norway, and the Philippines. The Congregation’s Vision is to “seek truth, make peace, reverence life.”