Mercy Supports Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2023: We see you, we cherish you, we love you!
The Institute Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee issued this statement on Transgender Day of Visibility:
We celebrate transgender people on this Day of Visibility. We stand as advocates with transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive persons for whom public acceptance is often wanting and violence is common. As part of our Mercy mission, we “strive to deepen our relationship with God and one another and to intensify our work with those seeking a more just and inclusive world” (2017 Chapter Recommitment).
We are learning to appreciate dimensions of human diversity we did not know existed. We promote education that expands our social, scientific, pastoral and religious understandings of all persons as created in the image and likeness of the Divine.
As a Mercy community, “we strive to witness to mercy when we reverence the dignity of each person, create a spirit of hospitality and pursue integrity of word and deed in our lives.” (Constitutions 8). We reject legislation that limits any person’s human rights and diminishes their dignity on the basis of gender identity. We affirm spiritual and theological insights that reflect the full spectrum of human goodness. In particular, we support trans people who are Black, Brown, Indigenous and Asian for whom white racism is a foundation of the oppression they suffer.
On this day, we mourn the loss of thousands of trans people. We join hands in prayer with trans persons, their families and friends as we commit to making our transgender siblings visible, valued, and vital members of a welcoming society.