SSND Reflection on Human Rights Monday, December 11, 2023 7:00pm ET, 6:00pm CT This year on International Human Rights Day (12/10/23), the world will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights to which everyone...Read more

by Sister Therese Marie Dougherty Making a historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis will address the United Nations Climate Conference, commonly known as COP28, in Dubai on December 2. On the following day, the first Sunday of Advent, he will join other religious leaders from a wide variety of faith traditions to inaugurate the first ever Faith...Read more

by Sister Sylvia Nyaboke Nyamira As members of a Laudato Si’ community, School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) have begun seeing aspects of our mission and ministry through the lens of the Pope’s 2015 encyclical. The document asks many things of us, including that we act in solidarity with the most vulnerable among us. As a former primary school teacher...Read more

Laudato Si’ and Community Resilience & Empowerment By Sister Judith Herold Goal 7 of Laudato Si’—Community Resilience & Empowerment—emphasizes community involvement and action aimed at caring for our common home. It asks each of us to organize and activate our communities to work toward solutions to the ecological crisis we all face. This goal reminds us that, although our responsibilities...Read more

By Sister Helen Galadima The Laudato Si’ Action Platform, Goal One: Cry of the Earth holds a special place in the lives of the School Sisters of Notre Dame Province of Africa and the entire congregation. We become a Laudato Si’ congregation the moment we commit ourselves to the seven-year goals of Laudato Si’. In Laudato Si’, the concept of...Read more

By Sister Kathy Schmittgens “The Response to the Cry of the Poor is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend human life from conception to death, and all forms of life on Earth. Actions could include projects to promote solidarity, with special attention given to vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, refugees, migrants, and children...Read more

The Use of Natural Resources at Notre Dame Girls Senior High School By Sister Emelia Ayambire Agana  The presence of the School Sisters of Notre Dame at Notre Dame Girls Senior High School in Sunyani, Ghana, has made a great impact on the lives of both staff and students. The influence has come not only through classroom knowledge but also...Read more

By Sister Maxine Pohlman The Laudato Si’ Action Platform’s goal of ecological education holds a special place in the lives of School Sisters of Notre Dame as we strive to be a Laudato Si’ congregation. In the prologue to You Are Sent, our SSND Constitution, we are reminded that from the beginning our congregation has been about “educating with a...Read more

By Sister Mary Heather MacKinnon As School Sisters of Notre Dame, associates and colleagues, we have made a public commitment to respond to Pope Francis’ call for us to be a Laudato Si’ congregation.[1] This seven-year commitment requires that we support and do our best to carry out the seven international goals proposed by Pope Francis and the Laudato Si’...Read more

Human trafficking is present in every state and province the School Sisters of Notre Dame live and minister. This modern-day slavery comes in many forms, including forced labor, forced prostitution, debt bondage and forced marriage. And while human trafficking often occurs unseen by us, we can all play a part in eradicating human trafficking through prayer, education, advocacy, survivor services...Read more