Global Sisters Report | A project of National Catholic Reporter

Mercy Sr. Helena O'Donoghue, left, with Rutendo, a client of Mercy Law Resource Centre in Dublin. The center, set up by the Sisters of Mercy, provides free legal advice and representation to people experiencing homelessness. (MLRC/David Speirs)

Sophia Housing, Mercy Law take holistic approach to homelessness in Ireland

Oct 29, 2020

Lessons from religious life: oppression, conflict, babies, noodle cake, flip-flops and pajamas

Sisters: The wisdom in not endorsing politicians

Horizons - I have known so many holy people. This time of year, when the veil between the living and the dead becomes even thinner, I can feel their prayers for my vocation, their pushes of encouragement in my journey.

The pandemic, politics and the power of prayer

by Christine Schenk

Oct 29, 2020

Simply Spirit: Okay, I have a confession to make. Last spring, as I watched the coronavirus pandemic explode across our planet, I was beyond furious at Donald Trump. (But that's not my confession.)

A pro-life challenge

by Patricia McCann

Oct 29, 2020

Through a new conversation on the complexity of abortion and other life issues, clergy and laity could build a life-affirming consensus that can ultimately provide grounding for meaningful law in a pluralist society.

Nonviolence — the next step

by Marie Vianney Bilgrien

Oct 28, 2020

We need to wrestle with the understanding that peace is compatible with conflict, not violence.

Workplaces, governments, families all 'playing politics'

by Jane Marie Bradish

Oct 27, 2020

The ongoing global pandemic brings struggles but also learnings and maybe surprise blessings. My struggles and learnings during this time are closely related: politics.

Walking a tightrope to repair our democracy

by Nancy Sylvester

Oct 26, 2020

Contemplate This: With the breakdown of trust in our democratic processes, it is not clear to me whether there will be enough confidence and willingness to risk that a pluralistic democracy can bring us together.

News

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, speaks at the Oct. 23 closing rally for the 2020 Nuns on the Bus virtual tour, which ran from Sept. 23 to Oct. 23. At right is Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, the Cath

Nuns on the Bus ends first virtual tour with emphasis on multi-issue voting

by Dan Stockman

Oct 24, 2020

The monthlong Nuns on the Bus tour emphasized that who Americans vote for matters. Speakers highlighted this message in a national rally and an evening town hall that concluded the virtual tour.

Global Sisters Report's new collection on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals contains about 200 articles and columns. More will be added to the collection as new articles and columns are published. (GSR screenshot)

Introducing GSR's collection on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

by Gail DeGeorge

Oct 22, 2020

GSR Today - Catholic women religious have been working to improve the lives of others long before the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Now you can see how sisters' ministries contribute to the overall U.N. plan.

Sr. Margaret MacCurtain, distinguished historian and activist, dies at 91

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 21, 2020

Sr. Simone Campbell, head of Network, to step down in March 2021

Those who accompany the dying inspired by 'Samaritanus bonus'

by Chaz Muth , Catholic News Service

Oct 15, 2020

Caring for children: Religious sisters launch global push for reform

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Oct 9, 2020

Coronavirus

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, left, sits outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Oct. 4, as Dr. Sean Conley, a Navy commander who is the White House physician, speaks to the media about President Donald Trump

Simply Spirit

The pandemic, politics and the power of prayer

by Christine Schenk

Oct 29, 2020

Mary, Undoer of Knots seen as offering hope amid tangled reality of pandemic

by Barb Umberger, Catholic News Service

Oct 27, 2020

In a year when a pandemic has entangled lives across the globe, Presentation Sr. Carrie Link painted an icon that may help Catholics straighten them out.

Workplaces, governments, families all 'playing politics'

by Jane Marie Bradish

Oct 27, 2020

Kenyan sisters support health workers during pandemic

by Regina Ndambuki

Oct 22, 2020

Sister-based volunteer programs adapt to pandemic restrictions

by Julie A. Ferraro

Oct 22, 2020

Symposium examines how COVID-19 has exacerbated human trafficking

by Chris Herlinger

Oct 15, 2020

Ministry

Sophia Housing, Mercy Law take holistic approach to homelessness in Ireland

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 29, 2020

"Our vision is for an Ireland where homelessness and the trauma caused by homelessness is eradicated from our society," says Daughter of Wisdom Sr. Jean Quinn, founder of Sophia Housing.

Photo shared with Sr. Rita Malavisi showing the sunrise from inside Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation, a detention center in Australia (Photo by a detainee)

Lessons from religious life: oppression, conflict, babies, noodle cake, flip-flops and pajamas

by The Life Panelists

Oct 26, 2020

The Life - Women religious are in a particular position to be near those on the margins on society. They even are surprised at the turns their own lives sometimes take.

Kenyan sisters support health workers during pandemic

by Regina Ndambuki

Oct 22, 2020

Sister-based volunteer programs adapt to pandemic restrictions

by Julie A. Ferraro

Oct 22, 2020

Sr. Margaret MacCurtain, distinguished historian and activist, dies at 91

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 21, 2020

Mission challenges us to accompany the poor in their struggles

by Jennibeth Sabay

Oct 20, 2020

Religious Life

'Take the leap, dear'

by Gabrielle Bibeau

Oct 30, 2020

People in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C., wait in line to vote Oct. 27. (CNS/Tyler Orsburn)

Sisters: The wisdom in not endorsing politicians

by Soli Salgado

Oct 27, 2020

Experts and sisters share the practical and prophetic reasons for promoting issues rather than candidates.

Meet the new sisters panel for the fourth year of The Life

by GSR Staff

Oct 26, 2020

Lessons from religious life: oppression, conflict, babies, noodle cake, flip-flops and pajamas

by The Life Panelists

Oct 26, 2020

Q & A with Sr. Meena Dias, serving children with disabilities in Goa for three decades

by Lissy Maruthanakuzhy

Oct 20, 2020

Raised in Buddhist Vietnam, three nuns share stories of who inspired their Catholic vocations

by Joachim Pham

Oct 19, 2020

Community News

Join the Fratelli Tutti Study Group

Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Congregation Spotlight: Ellen Nash, Associate

Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Dominican Sister Barbara Schwarz's Artwork Published by Redemptorist Publications

Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville

Sisters of Saint Dominic GOTV Efforts

Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Q&As

Q & A with Sr. Patricia McCann: 'Be a thorn in the side of injustice'

by Carol K. Coburn

Oct 27, 2020

As a young Mercy sister in 1965, Patricia McCann did not hesitate the day she saw a letter from John Lewis and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, requesting that college students come to Alabama.

Sr. Meena Dias, a member of the Sisters of Holy Family of Nazareth, right, with Vandana Kawlekar, a staff member at St. Xavier's Academy, which cares for children with disabilities in Old Goa, ancient capital of Portuguese Goa (Lissy Maruthanakuzhy)

Q & A with Sr. Meena Dias, serving children with disabilities in Goa for three decades

by Lissy Maruthanakuzhy

Oct 20, 2020

Sr. Meena Dias, a member of the Sisters of Holy Family of Nazareth, serves at St. Xavier's Academy, an institution under the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman that serves people with disabilities in India.

Q & A with Judith Baenen: 'Organize to change people's attitudes, not just laws'

by Carol K. Coburn

Oct 13, 2020

Q & A with Sr. Mary Grace Akiror, 'the sister you cannot bribe' in Uganda

by Gerald Matembu

Oct 6, 2020

Q & A with Sr. Barbara Lum: 'We can't go on judging people by the color of their skin'

by Carol K. Coburn

Sep 29, 2020

Q & A with María Soledad Gómez Navarro, historian specializing in the lives of Spanish sisters

by Eleanor Nash

Sep 22, 2020

Spirituality

'Take the leap, dear'

by Gabrielle Bibeau

Oct 30, 2020

Monsters under the bed

by Michele Morek

Oct 29, 2020

GSR Today: When we're kids, we're scared by the monsters in our imagination. Today, we have a real monster: a tiny, invisible one, but very, very effective in filling us with fear.

The pandemic, politics and the power of prayer

by Christine Schenk

Oct 29, 2020

Workplaces, governments, families all 'playing politics'

by Jane Marie Bradish

Oct 27, 2020

Gas stations, garage sales and God

by Hannah Vanorny

Oct 23, 2020

Dwelling in possibility

by Joan Sauro

Oct 21, 2020

Environment

São Paulo Zoo, Brazil (Wikimedia Commons/Mike Peel, www.mikepeel.net)

Why is Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology?

by Brian Roewe

Oct 2, 2020

Burning Question: Beyond the birdbaths and the blessing of pets on his Oct. 4 feast day, Francis of Assisi is also known as the patron saint of ecology. What does that mean? Who made that decision? And why?

A loggerhead sea turtle hatchling, "Caretta caretta," makes its way to the ocean Aug. 26, 2020. (Ecological Associates Inc.)

Can conservation measures save sea turtles from climate change?

by Gail DeGeorge

Sep 18, 2020

Three species of sea turtles still return to South Florida's beaches to lay their eggs, and groups like Ecological Associates are helping keep their nests safe. The biggest threats to turtles, of course, are humans.

Five hundred laps: the path to wonder and awe

by Tracey Horan

Aug 21, 2020

Franciscan Sisters give NCR $1.5 million to help 'wake up the world'

by NCR Staff

Jul 31, 2020

Amid biting drought, sisters in Zambia fend off hunger with organic farming

by Doreen Ajiambo

Jul 16, 2020

Preserving trees by making charcoal from paper litter

by Charity Bbalo

Jul 16, 2020

Social Justice

Sophia Housing, Mercy Law take holistic approach to homelessness in Ireland

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 29, 2020

"Our vision is for an Ireland where homelessness and the trauma caused by homelessness is eradicated from our society," says Daughter of Wisdom Sr. Jean Quinn, founder of Sophia Housing.

An expectant mother is seen in 2016 at a maternity home in Riverside, New Jersey, one of six pro-life maternity homes in the Good Counsel network. (CNS/Jeffrey Bruno)

A pro-life challenge

by Patricia McCann

Oct 29, 2020

Nonviolence — the next step

by Marie Vianney Bilgrien

Oct 28, 2020

Q & A with Sr. Patricia McCann: 'Be a thorn in the side of injustice'

by Carol K. Coburn

Oct 27, 2020

Walking a tightrope to repair our democracy

by Nancy Sylvester

Oct 26, 2020

Nuns on the Bus ends first virtual tour with emphasis on multi-issue voting

by Dan Stockman

Oct 24, 2020

Arts and Media

Mary, Undoer of Knots seen as offering hope amid tangled reality of pandemic

by Barb Umberger, Catholic News Service

Oct 27, 2020

In a year when a pandemic has entangled lives across the globe, Presentation Sr. Carrie Link painted an icon that may help Catholics straighten them out.

Sr. Margaret MacCurtain, right, is pictured with Sinéad McCoole (far left), historian and writer, and Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke at the Mansion House, Dublin, in 2014 for the launch of McCoole's book "Easter Widows." (Lensman Photography/Sinéad Mc

Sr. Margaret MacCurtain, distinguished historian and activist, dies at 91

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 21, 2020

President Michael Higgins led tributes from all sectors of Irish society to Dominican Sr. Margaret MacCurtain, who died in Dublin on Oct. 5.

Poor Clares' song reaches out in a hope to provide silence, calm

by Sarah Mac Donald

Oct 19, 2020

New curriculum teaches Catholic faith through lives of women religious

by Dan Stockman

Oct 15, 2020

Love and baseball

by Hannah Vanorny

Oct 7, 2020

What would nuns watch on Netflix?

by Maxine Kollasch

Sep 18, 2020

Migration

People at a Melbourne refugee and asylum seeker rights rally July 27, 2013, protest both the Rudd Labor Government new proposal for assessment and resettlement of asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea, and the Liberal Party's hard line stand to use the milit

Gaps in Australia's asylum program for people fleeing oppression

by Maxine Kollasch

Sep 25, 2020

From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this Random Nun Clip, Sr. Rita Malavisi talks about the Asylum Seeker Resource Center in Australia, where she has served as a volunteer for 17 years.

Darwin Airport Immigration Detention Centre, Australia (Flickr/Ken Hodge)

Encounter is real education

by Maxine Kollasch

Sep 11, 2020

From A Nun's Life Ministry podcasts - In Australia, asylum seekers' real stories influenced college students to think outside of the talking points they hear in the news.

Indian nuns aid migrant laborers stranded on way home during lockdown

by Jessy Joseph

Jul 13, 2020

Migrant workers flood Goa beaches for jobs; sisters help them fit in

Updated

by Lissy Maruthanakuzhy

Jul 9, 2020

Consecrated persons see the suffering face of Jesus

by Mary Lilly Driciru

Jul 1, 2020

World Refugee Day is June 20. Just imagine …

by Mary Leonora Tucker

Jun 20, 2020

Trafficking

Symposium examines how COVID-19 has exacerbated human trafficking

by Chris Herlinger

Oct 15, 2020

Experts including sisters discussed people's increased vulnerability to exploitation by traffickers, during a symposium sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, held at the International Union of Superiors General in Rome.

Small acts of kindness are so very powerful — having a home-cooked meal, being given a hand-woven scarf, receiving a hug, laughing together, dancing and really feeling heard. (Courtesy of Benedict Center)

Sisters Program South welcomes women on the streets of Milwaukee

by Celia Struck

Sep 15, 2020

To address the many crises of women struggling in trafficking and the street-based sex trade, one Lutheran church and four Catholic women religious congregations formed a faith-based partnership.

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