Women religious focus on prophetic role

(May 7, 2010) Some 800 women religious from over 75 countries belonging to the International Union of Superiors General began a five-day plenary assembly in Rome on Friday. Sister Maureen Cusick, superior-general of the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion, who is president of the union known by its French acronym USIG, explained to Vatican’s newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano the theme of the meeting - "I know the fountain well which flows and runs, though it is night,” inspired in a poem by St. John of the Cross. She noted that "these are dark times. We hear it said that darkness is covering the earth. Earthquakes destroy thousands of lives and homes, volcanic ash darkens the skies, oil contaminates the seas." "We must address the symbols of the negative," the nun said, stressing that women religious do not want to fail in their prophetic role in history, to "proclaim a vision of the world based on the Gospel, in a message of mercy and compassion." "We take seriously our prophetic role in the Church as consecrated women, to take the Word of God to those who are on the margins of society and also on the margins of the Church," she added.