by Tracey Horan
Contributor
During a hike, I climbed a fire tower. At the top, wind and fear knocked me over, leaving me clinging for dear life to the rail at the center of the winding stairs. Such a place of utter dependence is one I avoid at all costs. My struggle with mental illness since my early 20s has brought me unwillingly to this place.
by GSR Staff
"When the history and cultural context shifts, guess what's right behind it? The expression of religious life shifts to match it."
by GSR Staff
"People don't just come to Mass and then go home. They are walking in their faith, and there is so much care about people, their issues, their struggles. It is a place of faith and action, a unique community."
by Karen Jean Zielinski
Contributor
I cannot open the jar of homemade dill pickles, nor can I eat them. And Loretta Zielinski made good pickles. Common sense told me to get rid of them, but my heart told me they stayed right where they were in the back of my fridge. Those pickles were a big part of my mother.
Kon Tum City, Vietnam - The Filles de la Médaille Miraculeuse congregation, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, has 153 sisters from eight indigenous groups who work in 32 communities in the provinces of Kon Tum and Gia Lai. Three ya, a Bana ethnic word meaning "sister," shared with Global Sisters Report their stories about their vocations, work and the choice to live with the order.
As the Sisters of Mercy appeal the Nebraska Medicaid program's denial of coverage to 21 sisters, their predicament has national implications. Women's and men's congregations already face a growing shortfall between retirement assets and the amount needed to care for aging religious.
Karen Jean Zielinski is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio. She has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) since 1975 and sometimes writes for Healthy Living News — a local health magazine — and is regularly published in two national magazines. Her first book, Hope and Help for Living With Illness deals with health and spirituality.
"Sr. Carol brings a breadth of experience to this role and a heart for religious life that kindles our hope," LCWR president Teresa Maya told GSR. Notably, Sr. Carol Zinn was part of the leadership team that shepherded LCWR through three years of Vatican oversight following a doctrinal assessment of the organization that began in 2009.
by Geri Lanham
Notes from the Field: Veterinary technician Songé Sengela gives interactive formation sessions for families who receive goats as part of the Caritas goat program in Haiti's Gros Morne parish. Participants who follow her advice raise healthier animals that will sell for a better price at the Friday animal market in Gros Morne.
by Clarence N. Uzogara
Contributor
"The daughter of a tigress can only be a tigress." During the first week of visiting home, I didn't tell my mum about my problems. In the second week, I told her I was on holiday! Then, early one morning, she woke me up and asked me what I was still doing in the village after three weeks.
