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Columns

Former Kentucky convent finds new life as compassionate care home

by Janet M. Peterworth

Jul 28, 2021

A former Ursuline convent in Louisville, Kentucky, finds new life as a compassionate care home, the brainchild of a co-member of the Sisters of Loretto. It's one of many success stories of former religious properties pouring new wine in old wineskins.

The Sankofa bird teaches us about the future

by Nancy Sylvester

Jul 27, 2021

Contemplate This - As we move forward out of the pandemic, take time to turn your head backwards and see what wisdom emerges from our past. We have learned too much to think there is a "normal" to which we want to return.

Rural Papua New Guinea's isolation creates challenges, but limits COVID-19 spread

by Imelda Suyai

Jul 26, 2021

Living on a beautiful island like Papua New Guinea is a blessing. Although the isolation has its disadvantages — like bad (or no) roads and limited internet access — it also means few COVID-19 cases in rural communities.

See, I am doing something new! Do you not perceive it?

by Tracey Horan

Jul 23, 2021

Horizons - There's no reason to wait for long-range strategic plans. Beautiful, new iterations of religious life in response to the signs of the times are everywhere in the here and now. We simply have to open our eyes and look around.

Times call for Shiphrah and Puah activism

by Margaret Gonsalves

Jul 22, 2021

Perhaps the signs of the times in our world of rapid change call for a radical revisioning of religious formation. Prophetic voices call sisters to read these signs and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the prophet.

Women believers changed the Roman Empire — now we must change the Roman Church

by Christine Schenk

Jul 22, 2021

Simply Spirit: On her feast day, I want to reflect on something St. Mary of Magdala might find puzzling: What is the big deal about recognizing women's leadership in today's Catholic faith communities?

News

Mercy Sr. Mary Kay Dobrovolny, standing, speaks with a delegation from the U.S. in Honduras in early July. In the solidarity trip, the U.S. visitors learned about conditions that fuel northward migration. (CNS/Courtesy of SHARE)

Desperation in Honduras fuels migration northward, US visitors learn

by David Agren, Catholic News Service

Jul 28, 2021

The trip to Honduras showcased some of the factors driving migration in recent years, including violence, poverty and a loss of hope in Honduras because of poor governance and corruption.

Nearly 3,700 women religious urge Senate to pass For the People Act

Jul 27, 2021

"As Catholic women religious, we see and affirm the dignity of every person," stated the letter.

Braz de Aviz urges religious to join local preparation for Synod of Bishops

by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Jul 27, 2021

Talitha Kum: Fighting trafficking requires interventions of care

Jul 26, 2021

Monday Starter: Simon & Schuster publishes book on spirituality by Daughters of St. Paul

by Chris Herlinger

Jul 26, 2021

Policy keeping migrants out may stay in place longer

by Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service

Jul 23, 2021

Coronavirus

Dominican sisters in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, prepare raw fruits and roots in their motherhouse's yard before giving them to people affected by COVID-19. (Courtesy of Mary Nguyen Thi Minh Du)

Sisters unload tons of food, feed hungry in Ho Chi Minh City's COVID crackdown

by Joachim Pham

Jul 22, 2021

"The COVID-19 pandemic is a chance to share what we have with our brothers and sisters in need," explains one of the many Vietnamese sisters whose congregations are providing free food for people under quarantine.

Our sisters and other volunteers provide services to COVID-19 patients. (Courtesy of Teresa Joseph)

The people of India battle COVID-19

by Teresa Joseph

Jul 21, 2021

The terrible coronavirus has placed us in the liminal space between life and death. Certainly, there is fear, anxiety — precisely for this, we need an extra dose of courage.

COVID-19 takes toll on Catholic clergy, religious in hard-hit countries

by Luis Andres Henao, Jessie Wardarski, The Associated Press

Jul 16, 2021

Pandemic kills millions, while rich spend billions to go to space

by Mumbi Kigutha

Jul 16, 2021

COVID-19 challenged us to search anew

by Rose Cherian Vachaparampil

Jul 12, 2021

Visualizing our portal into the future

by Jennifer Wilson

Jul 2, 2021

Ministry

Hildegard House, a compassionate care home in Louisville, Kentucky, was created at a former Ursuline convent. Karen Cassidy, a co-member of the Sisters of Loretto, is executive director of the home, named for 12th-century Benedictine St. Hildegard.

Former Kentucky convent finds new life as compassionate care home

by Janet M. Peterworth

Jul 28, 2021

Sr. Matilda Inyang carries a child outside the Mother Charles Walker Children Home May 7 at the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus convent in Uyo, Nigeria. Since opening the home in 2007, Inyang has cared for dozens of children. (Valentine Iwenwanne)

Q & A with Sr. Matilda Inyang, supporting children whose families think they're witches

by Valentine Iwenwanne

Jul 27, 2021

For more than a decade, Sr. Matilda Inyang has cared for dozens of malnourished and homeless children from the streets of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, in Nigeria — many of whom had family who believed they were witches.

Rural Papua New Guinea's isolation creates challenges, but limits COVID-19 spread

by Imelda Suyai

Jul 26, 2021

Times call for Shiphrah and Puah activism

by Margaret Gonsalves

Jul 22, 2021

Women believers changed the Roman Empire — now we must change the Roman Church

by Christine Schenk

Jul 22, 2021

Sisters unload tons of food, feed hungry in Ho Chi Minh City's COVID crackdown

by Joachim Pham

Jul 22, 2021

Religious Life

Former Kentucky convent finds new life as compassionate care home

by Janet M. Peterworth

Jul 28, 2021

Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, gestures at the start of the first session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon on Oct. 7, 2019, at the Vatican.

Braz de Aviz urges religious to join local preparation for Synod of Bishops

by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Jul 27, 2021

"To ensure that the synodal church is not a mirage, but rather a dream to be realized, it is necessary to dream together, to pray together and to work together," Cardinal João Braz de Aviz said.

The Sankofa bird teaches us about the future

by Nancy Sylvester

Jul 27, 2021

See, I am doing something new! Do you not perceive it?

by Tracey Horan

Jul 23, 2021

Polish nuns killed by Soviet army as World War II ended showed courage

by Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service

Jul 21, 2021

UISG webinar on advocacy: Walk with, give voice to those on the margins

by Sarah Mac Donald

Jul 19, 2021

Community News

Sr. Dorothy Hall on the Importance of Ministry

Published Jul 22, 2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

OPSCC Justice Committee Event with Robin D'Angelo

Event date: 08/15/2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Deeptime Leadership Program Starts Sept. 22 (Nine Month Program)

Event date: Starts Sept. 22 -- Nine Month Program Deeptime Network (dtnetwork.org)

Sr. Cely Byrnes Retires From Siena House

Published Jul 14, 2021 Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York

Q&As

Q & A with Sr. Matilda Inyang, supporting children whose families think they're witches

by Valentine Iwenwanne

Jul 27, 2021

Sr. Gloria Inés Gonzales Ramírez, right, a Dominican Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, seeks to change Haiti's educational paradigm as director of a local school and nursery in the semirural commune of Corail.

Q & A with Sr. Gloria Inés Gonzales Ramírez, shifting Haiti's educational paradigm

by Soli Salgado

Jul 13, 2021

Sr. Gloria Gonzales, a Colombian Dominican Sister of the Presentation, prioritizes care and understanding in education, rather than punishing children, at the Missionary Center Maripuspal in Corail, Haiti.

Q & A with Sr. Lou Ella Hickman on giving poetic voice to women of the Bible

Jul 6, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Grace Surdovel about the ongoing conversation on sexuality and religious life

by Madeleine Davison

Jun 29, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Mercedes Castillo, accompanying immigrants on the border

by Nuri Vallbona

Jun 22, 2021

Q & A with Sr. Donna Marie Paolini on creating a space for solitude

Jun 15, 2021

Spirituality

A cultural dance troupe, comprising female students from Annunciation Secondary School, Nkwo, Nike, in Enugu State, Nigeria, dances to traditional Igbo music Feb. 26, 2019. (Wikimedia Commons/Arch-Angel Raphael the Artist)

The role of dance in African culture

by Mary Morajeyo Okewola

Jul 20, 2021

As an African, dance is as much a part of my life as eating and working, but it is also an important part of our worship. Dance in Africa is a way we can express ourselves when words are deficient.

Watching for another's downfall

by Teresa Anyabuike

Jul 19, 2021

In Luke 6:6-11, the scribes and Pharisees watch Jesus to see if he will cure a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. That Gospel account reminds us that following the letter of the law may spur selfish actions.

In Africa, cultural expressions accompany Christian practices

by Freda Ehimuan

Jul 13, 2021

You cannot give what you do not have

by Nicole Trahan

Jul 9, 2021

Bloom where you are planted

by Sujitha Sudarvizhi Jeyapul

Jul 7, 2021

Visualizing our portal into the future

by Jennifer Wilson

Jul 2, 2021

Environment

Anna Johnson speaks during a session of the "Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church" conference (NCR)

Conference primes US church for bolder responses to Laudato Si', climate change

Jul 19, 2021

For three days in online spaces, thousands of Catholics looked to prime the U.S. church for a stronger response to climate change and Pope Francis' call to become a central component in the global response to the world's ecological challenges.

In June 2019, the Catholic Climate Covenant and Creighton University hosted the "Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church" conference, in Omaha, Nebraska, the first of three gatherings that aim to raise the response in the United States to Pope Francis' e

Second Catholic climate conference looks to build more momentum among US church

Jul 9, 2021

The "Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church" conference, being held virtually July 13-15, aims to raise ambition and action within the U.S. church in responding to Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment.

UISG webinar calls sisters 'to be in a prophetic role' in advocating for the Earth

by Chris Herlinger

Jun 11, 2021

There's a revolution needed. Join it.

by Joan Chittister

Jun 10, 2021

Bad day for Big Oil is big climate win for religious shareholder advocates

Jun 2, 2021

Creation Care Prayer Network launches to spur ecological conversion worldwide

May 21, 2021

Social Justice

Nearly 3,700 women religious urge Senate to pass For the People Act

by La Croix International staff

Jul 27, 2021

"As Catholic women religious, we see and affirm the dignity of every person," stated the letter.

See, I am doing something new! Do you not perceive it?

by Tracey Horan

Jul 23, 2021

Nuns in Colombia spearhead report calling for peace

Jul 22, 2021

Times call for Shiphrah and Puah activism

by Margaret Gonsalves

Jul 22, 2021

Three words to get the ball rolling: Stop labeling people

Jul 15, 2021

The COVID-19 situation in Fiji

by Patiola Molia

Jul 14, 2021

Arts and Media

Catholic sisters embrace the gifts, navigate the pitfalls of social media

by The Life Panelists

Jul 26, 2021

The Life - Social media "has allowed us to be radically relational" with people worldwide, but it comes with dangers of addiction and physical disconnection. Our panelists look at religious life in the virtual world.

Sr. Freda Ehimuan (with drum) leads a prayer procession for World AIDS day in Kirikiri town, Lagos, Nigeria. (Courtesy of Sr. Freda Ehimuan)

In Africa, cultural expressions accompany Christian practices

by Freda Ehimuan

Jul 13, 2021

Missionaries to Africa erred in attempting to separate cultural expressions of faith from Christianity. Instead, it's practices such as songs, dance, drum and incantations that create authentically African ways to grow as Christians.

Q & A with Sr. Lou Ella Hickman on giving poetic voice to women of the Bible

Jul 6, 2021

Frontera: Where the limits of a wall and the promise of the unknown intersect

by Lisa Elmaleh, Soli Salgado

Jul 5, 2021

Who was St. Clare? New book delves into the life of 13th-century saint

Jun 26, 2021

Shrine's videos highlight life, faith of first US-born saint

Jun 2, 2021

Migration

Desperation in Honduras fuels migration northward, US visitors learn

by David Agren, Catholic News Service

Jul 28, 2021

The trip to Honduras showcased some of the factors driving migration in recent years, including violence, poverty and a loss of hope in Honduras because of poor governance and corruption.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, meets with Vice President Kamala Harris in El Paso June 25, 2021, during her first trip to the border as vice president to talk about immigration. Harris traveled to a border point of entry and met with faith groups

Policy keeping migrants out may stay in place longer

by Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service

Jul 23, 2021

News reports say the Biden administration may not roll back at the end of July a policy that keeps migrants out of the country, citing health measures given the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S.

Immigrant advocates were already pressuring the Biden administration to end what's known as Title 42 of the Public Health Safety Act, a policy the Trump administration began using in March 2020 as knowledge of rising infections of the coronavirus began to surge in the U.S. — and around the world.

Frontera: Where the limits of a wall and the promise of the unknown intersect

by Lisa Elmaleh, Soli Salgado

Jul 5, 2021

As newly arrived immigrants move beyond US-Mexico border, sisters are there to help

by Soli Salgado

Jun 24, 2021

Solidarity, esperanza and our future: sisters' dispatches from the border

by Dan Stockman

Jun 14, 2021

Mercy Sisters, intentional community strive to help immigrants in San Diego

Jun 10, 2021

Trafficking

Talitha Kum: Fighting trafficking requires interventions of care