As a professional organization comprised of nearly 1,000 members representing more than 300 religious institutes and organizations in 20 countries, the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC) feels compelled to speak at this moment to strongly and publicly condemn racism in all its forms and manifestations. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers who have suffered injustice and discrimination. We are heartily sorry for the pain they have suffered and continue to endure and for our own complicity, actions, and omissions that played a role in furthering the legacy and reality of systemic racism.

We are resolved to once more review and address our policies and practices for a clear, bold stance of inclusiveness of all races, cultures, and mixed cultures. We commit to identify and root out any policies and practices that conflict with an anti-racist position because we firmly believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God.

NRVC aims to serve as a catalyst for vocation discernment and the full flourishing of religious life as sisters, brothers, and priests for the ongoing transformation of the world. The NRVC has long been committed to respecting the dignity and diversity of our membership as well as to equipping vocation ministers to invite and accompany an increasingly diverse community of women and men to life as Catholic sisters, brothers, and priests with both confidence and competence. However, we recognize that our work in anti-racism is not complete because not all of God’s people feel safe and respected for who they are given the color of their skin.

NRVC therefore recommits to the following action steps as a way of furthering the personal and professional growth of our members and contributing to the ongoing transformation of society:

• Incorporating the values and principles of anti-racism and intercultural competency in our planning and programming as well as in decisions undertaken by the National Board.
• Providing additional tools and resources to our members on anti-racism and inclusion in our professional journal HORIZON, on the NRVC website, and in our current and future programming of workshops and institutes.
• Committing to featuring program speakers and presenters as well as HORIZON and VISION Vocation Guide authors who represent a diversity of races and cultural backgrounds.
• Working together with the leadership of the African American Religious Vocation Committee in identifying and/or creating additional tools and resources, as the Board, Member Area Coordinators, and National Office Staff commit to further educate ourselves and our members about the history and legacy of racism, our unconscious bias, as well as what steps can be taken to combat this grave social sin.  

May God who has begun this work in us bring it to completion!

Current NRVC National Board

Statement on Sexual Abuse 

In light of the recent findings of widespread sexual abuse at some of the highest echelons of the church, we feel compelled to speak at this moment of suffering and despair.

First, we stand in solidarity with the victims and are heartily sorry for the pain they have suffered and continue to endure.

Second, we recognize the hurt, anger, and impatience that those who truly love the church are feeling regarding this prevailing evil.

Third, we also recognize the challenge each new accusation brings to our mission and ministries as a church and as promoters of vocations.

No words of apology will ever be adequate. But there are measures and actions that we can take, should take, and in some cases, have taken.

• We must hold perpetrators and those complicit in the crimes accountable.
• We must tend to the victims, offering them hope and healing and our prayers.
• We must strengthen, adopt, and adhere consistently to safeguards and protocols outlined by our institutes and the wider church to protect the vulnerable and provide supervision and transparency.
• We must adequately assess and screen candidates to religious life and holy orders.
• We must train and offer ongoing formation to vocation directors and other leaders in religious life to ensure that religious communities admit only healthy and integrated adults and address those already in the community who may not be.

As an organization of women and men religious, we commit to advocating on behalf of the victims and for the sake of the future of religious life and the church by standing against a culture of indifference and silence. We commit to a renewed effort to shape a culture of accountability and transparency starting with ourselves and our own religious institutes. We promise our sincerest prayers for healing and wholeness for those who have been victimized. And above all, we embrace the hope of our faith that “we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable” … that through all our efforts, together as one church – lay, religious and clergy – we can serve as “a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises” (2 Peter 1:19).

written by the National Board, August 2018