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New director to assist committee in justice office changes

 

Elizabeth Deligio

The FSPA Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee (JPIC) recently announced that Elizabeth Deligio (pronounced dee-LEE-jee-oh) has accepted the position as director of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office for the congregation. This step is a first on several levels. Elizabeth will be the first non-member to hold the office, but more than that, this signals a new approach toward justice by the FSPA, according to Sister Sarah Hennessey, JPIC committee member. She said, "This position has a new emphasis, a new relationship to the community, a new structure and the JPIC committee has taken on a different shape."

Elizabeth will be working from an office at the 8th Day Center for Justice located in Chicago, Ill. She will be an FSPA employee but will inter-relate the FSPA justice agenda with the 8th Day Center's agenda to maximize potential outcomes. JPIC committee members will be providing direction for Elizabeth and introducing her to the congregation through various venues.

Sister Sarah explained that the committee considered several models before deciding on the connection with the 8th Day Center. She indicated the committee hoped to "connect with the energy of the larger justice movement" and felt this model provided the best options for that goal. Sister Jean Michael Treba, liaison to the committee, noted that other staff at the 8th Day Center will provide support for Elizabeth, reducing the likelihood she will feel isolated in her role.

For her part Elizabeth is pleased with this opportunity. "I feel very lucky and blessed to be in a position where I can take so many of my core Christian beliefs and be able to use them in a daily manner . . . to be able to work with the sisters and 8th Day Center toward shaping a future that looks different."

Raised in Golden, Colo., Elizabeth moved to Chicago several years ago to complete her education. She holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola Univer-sity in Chicago and a master's of divinity from Catholic Theological Union.
From her perspective, developing a good system of communication will be a key aspect of this position. She says that getting to know the community will be one of her first major challenges, because FSPA are spread out, and a big group. She'll know she has achieved some success when she sees "a couple of things come together, whether it be a gathering or a conference-something that is useful for the FSPA."

At this early stage Elizabeth feels her job will be a mixture of travel, social actions and social analysis. Meeting FSPA will necessitate some travel. The 8th Day Center participates in weekly protests and partners with other social justice groups in the city. Elizabeth will also engage in some of these actions. Additionally, she will spend time researching justice issues and crafting communications about them.

Working with people to see a different vision is an exciting part of this position for Elizabeth. She says, "I am most looking forward to the creative process of bringing together people who are passionate about social justice issues and seeing what we come up with from our collective wisdom."

Elizabeth has been immersed in social justice issues for many years. She has extensive volunteer experience with various organizations, mainly programs centered on children or women, domestic violence, homeless shelters and tutoring children. She explains that she is motivated to volunteer because she likes the experiential learning and being able to interact directly with people who were impacted by different
situations. "I always understood that a very vital part of my own Christianity was being involved in that capacity," she adds.

Elizabeth hopes to continue at least one of her volunteer experiences-interacting with young women ages 14 to 19 at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. She spends time talking with the young women about their lives and says, "I have learned so much about the youth perspective, about the public school system and urban issues in Chicago."

Elizabeth views this volunteer activity with different eyes since she was incarcerated this past spring for crossing the line at the 2004 School of Americas (SOA) protest in Georgia. She first participated in an SOA protest in 2001 and says she was deeply affected at the time.

By the time she returned for her second protest in 2004 she had keenly observed increasing militarization in the United States, and the war in Iraq. "I was particularly struck by the constant accusations we were making against the terrorists." She felt the hypocrisy of those actions when the United States has essentially supported a terrorist force in Latin America. Elizabeth found it "deeply unsettling" to see the president of the United States use a lot of Christian language to justify his actions.

At the time she was praying intently, actually working with the Franciscan prayer Make me an instrument of
your peace. That's when it occurred to her that she could cross the line at the protest.

Elizabeth's decision came with significant consequences. She was sentenced to three months at a federal women's minimum security prison in Illinois. She was forced to delay the completion of her master's program because the sentence coincided with the last half of her final semester. She sums up the experience with, "The experience is hard to totally put in words." She saw beauty, courage and strength of the human
spirit in the women she met. But a "darker reality" was always present.

She acknowledges that she is still "unpacking" the experience.Not all the consequences of her action were negative however. She gained new allies in her justice work when she came to know staff at the 8th Day Center. They assisted her as she prepared for her trial and jail experiences. Through those connections
Elizabeth came to know members of the FSPA. This eventually led her to a new justice-related job.

Now Elizabeth is ready to move forward. She says, "I welcome anything that anyone wants to share with me as a way to get to know the community better. I'm very excited and grateful for the opportunity."

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