Gail DeGeorge

In response to the gun deaths of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Texas, U.S. sisters' congregations added their voices to that of Pope Francis and other faith leaders in calling for stronger gun control efforts.

At the end of UISG plenary in Rome, sisters shared this pledge: "I commit myself to live vulnerable synodality through service as a leader, animating it within the community, together with the people of God."

Pope Francis told leaders of women religious congregations that synodality is a way to affirm the original intentions of the founders of religious congregations while meeting the needs of a rapidly changing world.

Hundreds of sisters from six continents are in Rome for the triennial plenary of the International Union of Superiors General, the organization's first major in-person event since the start of the pandemic.

UISG's 2022 plenary assembly, which runs May 2-6, will continue the core themes of vulnerability and synodality, with more than 700 leaders of women religious congregations participating, about 520 of them in person.

GSR Today - As I stopped in front of a replica of the Pietà, I prayed for sisters in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, South Sudan and around the world who are doing what they can to counter the forces of evil with love.

Abuse of power in women's congregations is beginning to come to light because of a greater sensitivity to sexual abuse and increasing awareness that sexual abuse is an extreme expression of abuse of power.

"Embracing Vulnerability on the Synodal Journey" is the theme for the International Union of Superiors General's 22nd plenary assembly, which starts March 14. For the first time, there are four meetings for superiors general.

The superior of one of the freed nuns said, "She still does not know the reasons why she was arrested, nor why they released her," and pledged that her community in Ethiopia will seek answers.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day offers the chance to highlight Catholic sisters' far-reaching commitment to ending the scourge of modern-day slavery.

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When Sr. Ann Kendrick arrived in Apopka, Florida, 50 years ago, "It was a very segregated and racist reality," she said. She and the team of three other Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur saw their work there as figuring out "what the issues are, what the hopes and dreams are" of the people who lived there."

Religion News Association contest judges said Dan Stockman's series "goes far beyond the conventional wisdom that nuns are disappearing, showing us who these modern women religious are and how and where they live. The piece about a schismatic order that returned to the Catholic fold was particularly fascinating."

On Aug. 13, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will hand out three Lifetime Achievement Awards, the first time the organization has given the award. The inaugural recipients are an economist, an advocate and a world traveler.

The dispute over St. Mary's Mission Hospitals pits a former Maryknoll priest against the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi. Each side claims ownership of the hospitals, with the standoff resulting in an exodus of staff and significantly diminished service to patients.

The event brought together young adult Catholic women ages 21-30 for five days of inspirational and motivational talks, leadership training, prayer workshops and mentoring sessions.

Sr. Sophie de Jésus speaks with GSR about the challenges throughout the formation of Association Compassion Asian Youth, an organization she founded years ago in the Philippines to help teens and young adults better themselves.

Meet the alumni of a pair of programs started in the Philippines that help young people in trouble with the law or who are recovering from trauma and need advocacy and guidance — and the Missionaries of Mary sisters whose ACAY program provides them foundations for life.

GSR Today - We don't know yet the full extent of how the pandemic will change religious life, but I have observed this past year how sisters have demonstrated courage, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Tapping creativity and ingenuity is a hallmark of the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers-AmeriCorps members — more than 400 — who found their terms of service at some 220 schools and community center sites disrupted by the pandemic.