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Holy Cross Sisters
A sign erected Aug. 14 by the Holy Cross Sisters can be seen across the street from the Merrill Post Office and urges inclusion for all people.
Across from the street from the Merrill Post Office since Aug. 14, a sign that reads “I was an immigrant and you welcomed me” was erected by the Holy Cross Sisters in Merrill in the hopes of sparking awareness about the political climate in the U.S. right now.
The Holy Cross Sisters, a religious organization that has existed in Merrill since 1923, has always promoted social justice issues and been a friend of refugees and immigrants. In the 1980s, when Hmong people made their way to central Wisconsin from Southeast Asia, the Holy Cross Sisters housed refugees on their campus in Merrill while they found a home.
Sister Pat Cormack says the issue of immigration in this country right now is not a political, but a moral one. “What we’re trying to do is raise concerns about the dignity of all human persons and the way in which recent Catholic rhetoric has demonized people who are different than we are,” Cormack says. “We can’t just dismiss people because we don’t want strangers coming into our country.”
So far, the reaction to the sign has been nothing but positive. Cormack even wrote a letter to the editor that appeared in local papers earlier this month and got positive feedback on that as well.
“There have been a number of calls saying way to go or that people support this,” says Russ Mancl, Holy Cross Sisters Director of Communications & Development. “I haven’t heard of anyone who doesn’t support this.” (M.G.)
