Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell never fails to cause a stir. As executive director of the Catholic social justice lobby NETWORK, Campbell is spearheading a third Nuns on the Bus tour, and from a strong kickoff at the steps of the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, the “We the People, We the Voters” tour has been rousing what Campbell and her colleagues are calling the “100%.” This year, the bus will travel more than 5,000 miles through 10 states Sept. 17-Oct. 20, with a focus on voting, ahead of Election Day Nov. 4.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Filed in 2011, a case in Lewis and Clark County, Mont., against the Ursuline Sisters, Western Province is scheduled for trial Dec. 1. So far 95 plaintiffs allege abuse occured at the St. Ignatius Mission church and school from the '40s through early '70s.

GSR Today - Earlier this year stories were circulating that the long-awaited final report on the Apostolic Visitation of U.S. women religious would be released prior to the Year for Consecrated Life, which begins on Nov. 30, the first Sunday of Advent. Now women religious themselves are giving their own perspective on the experience.  Power of Sisterhood: Women Religious Tell the Story of the Apostolic Visitation has just been published by University Press of America. 

A great woman has gone from our midst. Her name is Christine Vladimiroff, and we who are passionate about church reform owe God profound thanks for the gift of this woman's life.

Nuns on the Bus Blog - Tuesday evening, after a Town Hall for the 100% at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Charlotte, N.C., the Nuns on the Bus went on a short break. They had spent four days in the state, which just had its restrictive voter registration laws ruled "OK" by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling on Wednesday overturns the Fourth Circuit Court's Oct. 1 reinstatement of same-day voter registration and out-of-precinct voting.

GSR Today - Ursuline Sr. Mary Walter Santer was my personal mentor and translator on my journeys to Asia, where she served as a missionary and in leadership for 56 years tirelessly to promote partnership between religious women, men and bishops.

Three Stats and a Map - Saturday marks the third annual International Day of the Girl Child, and this year’s theme is “Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence.” According to the World Health Organization, 35 percent of women worldwide have been the victim of gender-based violence.

In the chaos of a developing disaster in an impoverished country, the women religious and Catholic organizations were at the forefront of organizing a response in Liberia. “We live here, we’re from here, I’ve been here for 36 years,” said Sr. Barbara Brillant of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. “I think that’s why people look to churches. Churches are here. You can have the best international non-governmental organization in the world, but you know they’re going to leave. We’ve used the foundation of the church to get out and mobilize and treat early. That’s the blessing we have.”

“I flame above the beauty of the fields to signify the earth –  the matter from which humanity was made. . . . "