What We Do: Justice and Peace
As Blauvelt Dominican sisters, we participate in the work of the North American Dominican Call to Justice and the work of various associates, sisters and circles of justice. We are passionate about:

Care for the Earth...
Creation of a Blauvelt Dominican Land Ethic based on the belief that the earth is the primary sustainer of life and a sacred living revelation of God. This Land Ethic is meant to influence and direct our individual and corporate actions. The full text of our Land Ethic can be found at http://www.opblauvelt.org/caringfortheearth.html

Clean Water...
As a Congregation, we participate in Religious Organizations Along the River (ROAR), a network of religious congregations and organizations founded in 1996 for the preservation and care of the Hudson River and the people who surround it. ROAR is based on the principle that we must live in right-relationship with all of creation. We also participate in Religious On Water, an organization of religious congregations concerned with environmental issues specifically related to oceans, coastlines, rivers, lakes, wetlands and watersheds, which was founded in 1999.

The Death Penalty...
Our Corporate Stance on the Death Penalty states: We, the Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, speak out against the Death Penalty. This action is motivated by our prayer, study, reflection and dialogue on the gospel of Jesus, the words of Pope John Paul II, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and other religious leaders. While compassionately acknowledging the suffering of the victims of violence, our Dominican commitment to preach justice compels us to take this stance.

Human Trafficking...
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York oppose all forms of human trafficking.
We call law enforcement agencies to conduct thorough investigations where the possibility of human trafficking activities exists. We call law enforcement to prosecute, to the full extent of the law, those who perpetuate this most heinous human rights abuse and to regard victims with human dignity, compassion and in ways that uphold their human rights.
We call legislatures to enact policies that will make human trafficking a serious crime with serious penalties for those who perpetuate it.
We commit ourselves to on-going education, analysis and ethical reflection on the reality and causes of human trafficking in our nation and world today. We commit ourselves to educate others. We commit ourselves to advocate for victims of human trafficking in effective and meaningful ways so that justice, human dignity and human rights can be restored to them.
In an effort to stop human trafficking, we are members of NY-CRC-STOP The New York Coalition of Religious Congregations Stop Trafficking of People http://lifewaynetwork.org/coalitions/nycrc-stop/

Immigration...
We the Dominican Sisters of the Northeast: Amityville, Blauvelt, Caldwell, Hope and Sparkill, believe that our present immigration law is badly broken and in need of reform: it ignores the human situation of separated families and the oppressive living conditions that force people to migrate. We support a compassionate and comprehensive immigration law that:

• Provides the processes for undocumented persons to achieve permanent residency and citizenship without leaving the United States.
• Creates legal avenues for migration.
• Assures family unity for immigrant families.
• Provides guaranteed human rights and labor protections for undocumented workers - and all workers.
• Addresses the root-causes of migration by protecting the human rights of workers internationally.

Nuclear Disarmament...
The following Corporate Stance was taken by the Sisters of St. Dominic on February 22, 2008. “The Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, New York call upon the United States government to lead the way for the global abolition of nuclear and all weapons of mass destruction by adopting a plan to lock down, reduce, and eliminate nuclear and all weapons of mass destruction. We call for immediate development, adoption and implementation of a plan that will ensure that there will be no new nuclear weapons, no new materials for nuclear weapons, and no testing of nuclear weapons. We will work with all people of goodwill until there is no chance that a nuclear weapon or other weapon of mass destruction can come into the hands of anyone wishing to do harm.”

Poverty...
In our 1985 Belief Statement, we proclaimed: "We believe that as women of compassion, we are called to use our power to help create an economic system in which the basic needs of all are met. We oppose unjust systems, which cause and sustain poverty, hunger and homelessness."

War No More...
We are committed to non-violence and advocate for justice that results in peace. We have family in Iraq – Dominican Sisters who have been effected by the war. We have family in most of the nations of the world and oppose war and violence in all its forms, realizing that the innocent are most often the casualties of war.