I attended a conference recently that led me to reflect upon the importance of raising awareness of sexual violence against children and protecting them from abuse. Children need better information, parents need to speak up and society needs to actively protect the vulnerable.

GSR Today - We don't like the unknown. We don't like not knowing what's going to happen. We fear the path we cannot see. The unknown has many people afraid right now.

"If standing up for justice and for peace for all people should call us to leave behind what's comfortable and what's safe, will we, too, be compelled?"

GSR Today - We have been following the Women's March on Washington and the other similar marches around the world today. We have reporters on the ground in Chicago, New York, Boston, El Paso and more (even Tel Aviv). Check in. Send us news on our Facebook site.

Catholic women made sure their voices were heard among the millions who gathered at marches and rallies in cities and towns across the United States and around the world on January 21 to stand up for women's rights and send a signal to President Donald Trump about a wide range of issues.

The words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. haunt me. Are we too comfortable in the center of society as to step out to the margins? Are we too focused on the divisions among us that we do not have the courage to be the Christians we are called to be?

See for Yourself - "I'll take a guess and ask, are you from Austria?" I query. "That's a great guess, but I'm actually from a country slightly north of Austria. I'm from Latvia."

"It is important not to polarize. We need to work with one another on behalf of God's creation: one heart, one mind holding before us the needs of our environment."

My fears about hijra have gone. Instead, something inside me tells me to do something more for them so that they can claim their rightful place in society. The Lord gathers the outcasts, and so must we.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to assemble at the National Mall for the Women's March on Washington Jan. 21, one day after Trump's presidential inauguration. Catholic sisters from around the country are among those headed to D.C.