The Vatican has an archived copy of the press conference from Dec. 16 at the Vatican where the apostolic visitation report was released and discussed, and Rome Reports has three short video interviews of key players: Mother M. Clare Millea, Sr. Sharon Holland and Mother Agnes Mary Donovan. Filmmaker Melissa Regan, who is making a Nuns on the Bus movie, talked to Sr. Simone Campbell about the report, too.

Commentary - The apostolic visitation, which sowed much division and cast a dark shadow over the lives and work of U.S. women religious for nearly six years, is finally drawing to an end. Beleaguered as we are, for this we should express gratitude. To quote from T.S. Eliot: "Not with a bang but a whimper."

GSR Today - Usually when we gather with family and friends we share a meal. Feasts are part of community celebrations, symbols of the reign of God and even of the world to come. All over the globe we gather around the Eucharistic table. There is something sacred about breaking bread together that strengthens our connections with one another.

The annual Border Mass at the fence that marks the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico was celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 22. Bishop Oscar Cantu presided with Bishop Mark Seitz and priests from the three dioceses: Las Cruces, N.M., El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, that converge at the site. The liturgy commemorates the lives of migrants who have died crossing the border and was especially significant in the wake of President Obama’s announcement of an executive order that will bring reform of U.S. immigration law.

Commentary - I learned somewhere that “All spirit starts at the top.” The attribution may be apocryphal, perhaps, but in this case true, nevertheless. Tuesday, in fact, I saw the truth of that with my own eyes. Tuesday’s release of the final report on the apostolic visitation of American nuns launched in 2008 by Cardinal Franc Rodé, then prefect of the congregation for religious life, takes on a completely different tone than at its inception.

The Vatican’s report on the apostolic visitation released Tuesday was an affirmation of women religious in the United States – but was it yet another possible sign of a change in tone at the highest levels of the Catholic church? With its calls for dialogue and collaboration – and a nod toward greater decision making by women – the report follows October’s Synod on the Family, where open debate of topics that had not previously been up for discussion appeared to signal to some a sea change in how the Vatican operates.

Tuesday, the Vatican released the final report from the three-year apostolic visitation to U.S. women religious – and largely to praise. Many people, both religious and lay, celebrated the report’s conciliatory language, calling the document an olive branch and a step forward in mending the relationship between women’s congregations and the Vatican. But the sentiment wasn’t universal.

Women religious and interested watchers responded with gratitude – and a bit of caution – to the Vatican’s response to the apostolic visitation Tuesday, saying it represents both a dramatic change in tone toward sisters’ work in the United States and a path for future dialogue.

An exclusive interview with Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Sharon Holland, president of LCWR: The woman who represents tens of thousands of U.S. Catholic sisters has said she hopes release of a report on the controversial six-year Vatican investigation of their life and work can lead to "greater forgiveness and reconciliation" between sisters and church leaders.

GSR Today - Reactions on Tuesday to the final report on the apostolic visitation to U.S. sisters generally were as positive as the report itself. Following is a sampling from major media.