Catholic News Service

Activists called on Sri Lankan authorities not to arrest an activist nun who has supported anti-government protesters.

Senior Catholics see the beatification of 10 Polish nuns murdered by Russian soldiers at the end of World War II as highlighting the need for radical Christian witness while offering a prophetic reminder of current sufferings in Ukraine.

By sharing their experiences of working with the poor and the marginalized and building partnerships with government and business leaders committed to improving people's lives, religious sisters are convinced that "we can bring about substantial and systemic change," said Loreto Sr. Patricia Murray.

In what may have been the first such ceremony held by a Catholic religious community in Wisconsin, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross hosted a land acknowledgment ceremony on the grounds of St. Francis Convent on May 14.

Good Shepherd Sr. María Agustina Rivas Lopez, who was murdered by terrorists during Peru's political violence, was beatified May 7 during a liturgy in the same plaza where she was shot to death in 1990.

The Christian vocation is for all members of the church to work together and show that one human family united in love is not a utopia but is the reason God created humanity, Pope Francis said.

The leaders of religious orders around the world are taking very seriously not only preparations for the Synod of Bishops assembly in 2023, but the whole idea of making the Catholic Church more "synodal" -- a place where everyone is called to prayer, discernment and responsibility for the church and its mission.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Albanians for supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia and compared their help to the actions of St. Teresa of Kolkata.

The pope's message, released by the Vatican on May 4, was sent to participants in an international conference in Rome May 4-5. The gathering was dedicated to discussing ways to protect, evaluate and manage the cultural heritage of communities of consecrated life.

Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz told the superiors May 3 that their organization has been operating in a synodal manner since its founding more than 50 years ago, recognizing each other as sisters and accepting differences among them as something that enriches them all.

Officials at the Catholic University of America dedicated and blessed a campus street April 29 named in honor of the late Sr. Thea Bowman, a noted educator and evangelist who studied at Catholic University and whose cause for canonization was opened in 2018.

Sr. Norma Pimentel is the 50th recipient of the award, inspired by Pope John XXIII's 1963 encyclical, "Pacem in Terris" (Peace on Earth), which called all people to secure peace among the nations.

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the volunteers who help them head to the Przemysl train station each night and invite war-weary travelers to their house to rest.

Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, two sisters of the Congregation of Sisters of the Angels who staff a Zhytomyr home for orphans, decided it was time to take the kids and leave.

Days after a tabernacle containing the Eucharist was stolen from a parish near Baltimore, parishioners received some good news when the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur donated one of their tabernacles to the grieving faith community.

Sr. Suellen Tennyson, 83, was kidnapped from the convent at Holy Family Parish in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, because she's American, the congregational leader for the community said.

Mother Mary Lange, who founded the first Black Catholic school in the United States and the first religious order for women of color, is an example of courageous resilience the church needs, say members of her order, the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

After two years of the pandemic, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur developed yet another imaginative use of Zoom: The congregation conducted its leadership transition process entirely via Zoom.

Sr. Norma Pimentel, whose work with asylum-seekers has been recognized by Pope Francis, Time magazine and others, will receive the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award on April 21.

People facing a humanitarian crisis need material assistance and they need experts committed to protecting their human rights, said Comboni Sister Gabriella Bottani.