But the greater number of our friars, sisters, and lay Franciscans are antagonistic or, at best, indifferent. At meetings like this I often feel that we are saving the saved. In may cases, they simply do not see present day issues as having a moral component. This is perhaps our most urgent task, if not our most difficult. The value we believe in have to be lived in our own communities.
Religious communities have a prophetic role to play in taking on critical issues of our times.
It is important that we speak with a unified voice to the extent that such is possible. We must explore more in depth the ways in which we bring communities to a corporate stance. I believe that the conscientizing of religious in the U.S. is of paramount importance and is far from a completed task. There is something simple about the peace extended by Christ. The same is true of the less complex age of Francis of Assisi.