Global Sisters Report | A project of National Catholic Reporter

Feb 25, 2021

Columns

Coronavirus brother has brought its lessons for humanity

by Sujitha Sudarvizhi Jeyapul

Feb 25, 2021

We may think that we are suffering from being quarantined, but God has used this limited experience to show us what we did not know.

May the communion of saints bring us comfort!

by Martha A. Kirk

Feb 24, 2021

The global pandemic is leading us into the communion of saints in ever deeper ways. In our ongoing grief, it has helped me to remember the special gathering the Incarnate Word family had last fall for Day of the Dead.

Historic rally to support farmers unites all of India

by Dorothy Fernandes

Feb 23, 2021

About six of us from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand states travelled some 1,000 kilometers to sit with the farmers as a mark of solidarity. It was for me a truly spiritual experience.

Lenten resilience and practice for us during the pandemic: prayer, fasting, almsgiving

by Teresia Mutiso

Feb 22, 2021

It just feels consoling to know that we are in this fight against the pandemic together. We seek, we yearn, we share and we listen. We belong, we love, we pray together. We are a part of a community. So, what does this mean for us as Christians, as we approach the Lenten season 2021?

'Scholomance' fantasy novel touches on power of evil — and of grace

by Christine Schenk

Feb 20, 2021

Simply Spirit: A Deadly Education, the intriguing first book in Naomi Novik's new series, led me to think in new ways about how we are called to use our own graced "superpowers" to overcome evil and promote good.

Lent 2021: What to give up, when you feel like giving up

by Colleen Gibson

Feb 19, 2021

Horizons - When we feel like giving up, perhaps one of the best things we can give up is the need to control every facet of our lives. Another thing to give up: negative judgment.

News

Leadership groups condemn abuse by nuns but leave solutions to local congregations

Feb 25, 2021

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious provides resources for abuse allegations but says it has no authority over its members. Survivors of nun abuse disagree. They want stronger oversight and the chance to speak at annual assemblies.

A screenshot of a a Feb. 9 webinar focused on digital technologies to help end homelessness, moderated by Sr. Teresa Kotturan, who represents the Sisters of Charity Federation at the United Nations. (Provided photo)

Sister reps at UN call out global digital divide as source of inequalities

Feb 22, 2021

A global digital divide must be overcome to end ongoing crippling inequalities, say participants in 10 days of meetings at the United Nations on digital technology's role in improving global social development.

Survivors of sex abuse by nuns suffer decades of delayed healing

Feb 22, 2021

Sr. Dianna Ortiz, kidnapping survivor and advocate for torture victims, dies at 62

Feb 20, 2021

Myanmar nuns show solidarity with anti-coup protesters

by Catholic News Service

Feb 17, 2021

Happy Lunar New Year! Here's how some Vietnamese nuns rang in Tet

by Joachim Pham

Feb 17, 2021

Coronavirus

Workers of an Accra, Ghana, factory begin the production of personal protective gear for local frontline health workers April 10, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS/Reuters/Francis Kokoroko)

Coronavirus brother has brought its lessons for humanity

by Sujitha Sudarvizhi Jeyapul

Feb 25, 2021

We may think that we are suffering from being quarantined, but God has used this limited experience to show us what we did not know.

A student shares her ofrenda altar in memory of her grandmother during a Dia de los Muertos virtual gathering of the Incarnate Word family last fall. (Screenshot by Martha A. Kirk)

May the communion of saints bring us comfort!

by Martha A. Kirk

Feb 24, 2021

Lenten resilience and practice for us during the pandemic: prayer, fasting, almsgiving

by Teresia Mutiso

Feb 22, 2021

Connection in pandemic: Associates and sisters nurture spiritual bond virtually

Feb 18, 2021

Sisters serve amid COVID-19, other hardships

by Tessy Jacob

Feb 18, 2021

Upended by pandemic, Benedictine life survives and thrives by being adaptable

by Judith Valente

Feb 18, 2021

Ministry

"I never thought of any other congregation but the Columbans," Sr. Mary Greaney, 87, says of her more than three decades as a missionary in Hong Kong and her more recent outreach to the Chinese diaspora in Ireland. (Courtesy of Sr. Mary Greaney)

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

Greaney arrived in Hong Kong in 1971 and spent the next 37 years there as a missionary and nurse. After retiring to Ireland, her mission is now to a flourishing parish community for the Chinese diaspora in Dublin.

Handmaids of Mary Sisters are pictured outside St. Mary's Hospital in Jharsuguda, Odisha, India. The sisters serve at the hospital, and have continued their work during the pandemic. (Provided photo)

Sisters serve amid COVID-19, other hardships

by Tessy Jacob

Feb 18, 2021

Religious sisters continue to serve in hospitals, amid the threat of the pandemic. Many of them endure persecution as well. Yet these sisters, called for the service of God and humanity, persevere.

Sisters versus homelessness: a look back on a year of focus

Feb 15, 2021

Vietnamese sisters help flood victims rebuild their lives, celebrate Tet

by Joachim Pham

Feb 11, 2021

'Who you become is more important'

by Judith Best

Feb 11, 2021

Women Religious, Women Deacons Q&A: Why would the ministry of women religious/women deacons be beneficial?

by Phyllis Zagano

Feb 11, 2021

Religious Life

Leadership groups condemn abuse by nuns but leave solutions to local congregations

Feb 25, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

Survivors of sex abuse by nuns suffer decades of delayed healing

Feb 22, 2021

Connection in pandemic: Associates and sisters nurture spiritual bond virtually

Feb 18, 2021

Upended by pandemic, Benedictine life survives and thrives by being adaptable

by Judith Valente

Feb 18, 2021

Happy Lunar New Year! Here's how some Vietnamese nuns rang in Tet

by Joachim Pham

Feb 17, 2021

Community News

Support Tolentine Zeiser Pre-K Students

Event date: 03/01/2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt

How Do We Open Our Hearts To The World?

Event date: 03/09/21 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt

Living Through COVID with Faith and Hope

Event date: 03/04/2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Catholic Sisters to Launch Yearlong Social Justice Conversation Series

Event date: March 10 at 3pm central, and second Wednesdays through March 9, 2022 LCWR Region X

Q&As

Q & A with Sr. Mary Greaney, ministering to Dublin's Chinese community

by Sarah Mac Donald

Feb 23, 2021

The house of Presentation Srs. Mary Lou Specha and Julie Marsh after it was turned into a "parade float" for Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Courtesy of Sr. Mary Lou Specha)

Q & A with Sr. Mary Lou Specha, who turned her home into a Mardi Gras float

Feb 16, 2021

With Mardi Gras events canceled because of COVID-19, artists who create floats were out of work. Someone had the idea of decorating houses to create a stationary parade, and Presentation Sr. Mary Lou Specha signed up.

Q & A with Matthieu Brejon de Lavergnée, author of a history of the Daughters of Charity

by Elisabeth Auvillain

Feb 9, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Preetha Varghese, providing food and clothes to those who need it in New Delhi

by Jessy Joseph

Feb 2, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Nyzelle Dondé, leading a ministry to migrants in Honduras

by Soli Salgado

Jan 26, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Christin Mary, advocate for India's domestic workers

by Philip Mathew

Jan 12, 2021

Spirituality

I enjoy taking a walk around campus in the evening to catch the sunset, which paints the sky with incredible color. (Maddie Thompson)

The four tenets of Good Shepherd Volunteers keep me rooted

by Maddie Thompson

Feb 24, 2021

Notes from the Field - Though the pandemic has turned the world upside-down, the tenets of social justice, simplicity, spirituality and community provide solid ground for my Good Shepherd Volunteer year.

May the communion of saints bring us comfort!

by Martha A. Kirk

Feb 24, 2021

Lenten resilience and practice for us during the pandemic: prayer, fasting, almsgiving

by Teresia Mutiso

Feb 22, 2021

'Scholomance' fantasy novel touches on power of evil — and of grace

by Christine Schenk

Feb 20, 2021

Lent 2021: What to give up, when you feel like giving up

by Colleen Gibson

Feb 19, 2021

Upended by pandemic, Benedictine life survives and thrives by being adaptable

by Judith Valente

Feb 18, 2021

Environment

Protesters walk near a construction site of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline Nov. 18, 2017, in Holtwood, Pennsylvania. (CNS/Stephanie Keith, Reuters)

Adorers sisters seek damages in latest lawsuit over gas pipeline

by Brian Roewe

Feb 25, 2021

The Adorers of the Blood of Christ, who tried to stop a natural gas pipeline from crossing their land by building a chapel, are now seeking damages in court from the energy company that constructed it.

The tree survives because it has adapted to the intruder — the cables. (Sue Paweski)

What the truth of a tree taught me during this pandemic

by Sue Paweski

Feb 16, 2021

There is no thought of life returning to pre-pandemic times in a year or so. An awareness of the fragility of life is making an indelible mark on our souls. I wonder how our lives will continue to be changed.

Day 1's executive actions signal Biden climate position

by Brian Roewe

Jan 21, 2021

Nature in our lives, in the cathedral, in the house of human rights

by Maria Magdalena Bennasar

Jan 7, 2021

Pacific Climate Warriors win Pax Christi peace prize

Forest therapy reawakens human connection to the natural world

Social Justice

People sit in solidarity with the farmers at the Ghazipur border to India's capital city, Delhi, after new laws were passed in September. (Dorothy Fernandes)

Historic rally to support farmers unites all of India

by Dorothy Fernandes

Feb 23, 2021

About six of us from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand states travelled some 1,000 kilometers to sit with the farmers as a mark of solidarity. It was for me a truly spiritual experience.

Sister reps at UN call out global digital divide as source of inequalities

Feb 22, 2021

Sr. Dianna Ortiz, kidnapping survivor and advocate for torture victims, dies at 62

Feb 20, 2021

The struggle to find #justLOVE in times of hate

by Celina Kim Chapman

Feb 17, 2021

Sisters versus homelessness: a look back on a year of focus

Feb 15, 2021

Women religious sign on to bishops' statement supporting LGBTQ youth

Feb 12, 2021

Arts and Media

Missionary of Jesus Sr. Norma Pimentel with "Oh Mercy" director Robert Bilheimer, taken before the pandemic (Courtesy of Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas)

Sr. Norma Pimentel at center of new documentary on migration

by Soli Salgado

Feb 23, 2021

GSR Today - With Sr. Norma Pimentel as the film's "heroine," the audience can see the realities on the border in a "highly compassionate, not preachy way," says Robert Bilheimer, director of the 10-minute documentary.

Simply Spirit

'Scholomance' fantasy novel touches on power of evil — and of grace

by Christine Schenk

Feb 20, 2021

Sisters' residence in New Orleans gets Mardi Gras treatment

by Christine Bordelon, Catholic News Service

Feb 18, 2021

The struggle to find #justLOVE in times of hate

by Celina Kim Chapman

Feb 17, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Mary Lou Specha, who turned her home into a Mardi Gras float