Two Inspirational Dominicans

            As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was given the opportunity to meet two incredibly inspirational Dominicans who were visiting Geneva during my first weeks here. I was asked to interview them both and write up a short account of my discussions with them. Below you will find my interview write-ups as well as my reflections on the interviews!

Sr. Anne

Born in France, Sister Anne Lécu attended medical school prior to taking vows as a Dominican sister in 1997. In January, 1997, Sr. Anne began working in Fleury-Mérogis Prison, the largest prison in Europe, as a medical doctor. Sr. Anne explains that she began by working in the men’s prison but has been working with women for the past five years. In her capacity as a medical doctor, Sr. Anne sees patients but does not speak to them about religion or the Gospel because that is not her primary focus. However, when asked about where she sees God in her work, she explains that her experiences in the prison have made her more able to speak about God outside of its walls. She honestly attests that it is sometimes difficult to speak about God after experiencing the prison and that her work there has definitely changed her faith. After spending a number of years in the prison, she now recognizes that, “there aren’t good people and bad people, there is opportunity to do good things and bad things.” After hearing about the experiences of those she is working with, as an empathetic person, Sr. Anne sympathizes with the prisoners and recognizes that the females in the prison are the same as women who are not imprisoned, they have just made mistakes. Her face lights up as she shares a remarkable story of attending mass with the prison inmates, witnessing ten of the worst inmates fall on their knees before the cross, and understanding at that moment that Jesus was with the females. Because of her work with the female inmates, Sr. Anne is able to fully recognize that Jesus is on the side of the sinners and is able to see his presence while in the prison. She states that there is no more room for sin because Jesus replaced it on the cross and is deeply moved by the fact that the women she is serving in the prison are able to recognize this as well, and that they attend Church with the hope of making a change in their lives. Witnessing this phenomenon has given her hope that these women will be able to make a change in their lives, a change that she believes was prompted by God.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Sr. Anne and really felt that I could connect to her experience after having worked in a prison last semester as a part of a Psychology internship class. Throughout that internship experience, I struggled with my own realizations that those who were imprisoned were not necessarily bad people, but had instead only made bad choices. I found myself wanting to dislike people based on the crimes that they had committed but found it hard after hearing their stories and the circumstances that had let them to commit crime. I admired the way that Sr. Anne was able to so clearly articulate this fact and the way that she spoke about seeing the good in every person. This is something that I constantly wanted to do during my internship but did not want to let myself do. However, she assured me that seeing the good is not only important, but also necessary. I was also especially inspired by her hope for these women to make positive changes in their lives with the help of their faith.

Fr. Carlos

            Born in Spain, Fr. Carlos Rodriguez Linera joined the Order of Preachers in 1969. When asked, Fr. Carlos cites his reason for joining the Dominicans as being the fact that he was looking for a change, but not just change for the sake of change, but the “soul of society” during a time that society was crumbling. After joining the Order, Fr. Carlos worked in Taiwan for eight years in a Parish and then in a Hong Kong school for twenty-one years. Today, Fr. Carlos works as the General Promoter of the Dominican order. His responsibility is to encourage others to integrate justice and peace into their lives and to live the Gospel. He asserts that our dignity as human persons is the greatest gift that we are given because God created us in his image; as a result, every time a human person suffers, God suffers, making human rights vitally important. At the center of this advocacy for the rights of the human person, Fr. Carlos further explains, is recognition that all of humanity is brothers and sisters. This is a fact that needs to be constantly acknowledged and reflected upon. Fr. Carlos also speaks very highly about the importance of respecting others who may think differently from one’s self, and engaging in negotiations. He sees the responsibility of the Dominicans, especially at the United Nations, as allowing others to recognize that by providing each and every person with the basic resources to survive, we can achieve peace. Fr. Carlos recognizes that achieving this goal and living this life is not a simple task and knows that his monumental responsibility is to remind Dominican communities around the world of the importance of preaching this message and carrying out Jesus’ mission. Fr. Carlos believes that when more people begin to live as Jesus did and to recognize the innate dignity in each and every person, that society will be on the way to allowing every human to enjoy his or her full human rights.

I was not expecting to be able to meet Fr. Carlos so I was overjoyed when I learned that he was going to visiting our delegation! I mentioned Fr. Carlos in my first blog post because he is the Dominican who visited PC last fall and who is responsible for me deciding to apply for a Smith Fellowship in Geneva! I was so glad that I had the opportunity to meet Fr. Carlos and thank him in person for everything that he did for me. I was also very excited to learn that he hopes the PC-UN relationship will continue in the future, not only at the UN in Geneva but in New York as well. I am looking forward to discussing this with him in the future and figuring out how we might be able to get involved a little closer to home.

In speaking to Fr. Carlos, I was extremely impressed by how simply he was able to explain human rights. He said that by respecting the dignity in each person and by providing each individual person with the resources that they need to survive, we can achieve universal human rights. I definitely appreciate the work of all the delegates at the UN in discussing Human Rights for three weeks at the Human Rights Council, but also really enjoyed hearing Fr. Carlos explaining the same idea in a single sentence. If we live as Jesus did and treat others with dignity, the way he did, we will achieve human rights. If it seems so simple, then why is it sometimes so hard?

The visits of Fr. Carlos and Sr. Anne were definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Geneva and I am so glad that I was able to get two additional perspectives on the ways that one is able to promote human rights in the world! J

Sr. Anne, Fr. Carlos and I :)