Catholic nuns oppose deportation of Australian missionary

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Australian missionary nun Sr. Patricia Fox. (Photo courtesy of Mark Saludes/UCANews)

Leaders of Catholic religious congregations for women in the Philippines have called for the reinstatement of the missionary visa of Australian nun Sr. Patricia Fox and opposed her deportation as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

They said that to fight for human rights and for the poor as what Fox had done was part of missionary work and said the Duterte government was picking on the Australian nun because of “misogyny and chauvinism.”

“We again raise our voices in support of the missionary work of Sr. Patricia Fox and all religious who continue to work in the peripheries and all women who stand up against misogyny, chauvinism and the degradation of women,” said the Association of Major Women Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSWP), an influential group composed of the heads of Catholic religious orders, in a statement last May 30.

“We are deeply concerned by the narrow definition of our missionary work,” added the statement of the AMRSWP, headed by Sr. Regina Kuizon, RGS, a journalism alumna of the University of Santo Tomas.

“Service to the poor – lumads, urban poor, farmers, workers, women, children and all who are marginalized – are integral to our missionary work. They are inextricably linked to our work as religious and consecrated persons. We do not view them as political acts nor interference in the affairs of government,” Kuizon said.

Amid “creeping dictatorship,” they said that they would continue to stand and be in solidarity with all men and women who fight for their own rights and defend democracy.

Emphasizing on their opposition to attacks, humiliation and prejudice against women, they called on everyone to support Fox and other women religious.

“We are women. We are weavers of history. We are nurturers of the Earth. We are givers of life. Babae kami!” the statement added.

AMRSWP Statement 2018 (My Soul Magnifies the Lord):

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