Dan Stockman

Panelists at the National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice say that great strides have been made in some areas by the church to ensure widespread abuse and cover-up do not happen again, but failures continue to arise.

Mercy Sr. Mary Haddad, head of Catholic Health Association, embraced Pope Francis' Laudate Deum, calling for urgent efforts to fight the climate crisis. Also: news about Catholic sisters' anti-trafficking efforts.

In recent decades congregations began moving investments into companies and funds that make a positive impact on the world. Now, some are even using their money to change the investing landscape itself.

Sr. Sue Ernster recently became president-elect of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about two-thirds of the Catholic sisters in the U.S. She spoke about what excites her about this time with LCWR.

Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, says Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, the nun at the center of a dispute over allegedly broken vows, may be excommunicated, along with the rest of the nuns at her monastery.

A course in September at the headquarters of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in Rome will help women religious learn more about migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. 

Serving those desperately in need can be dangerous, exhausting and costly, Sr. Donna Markham said, but it is at those moments, "standing with holy suffering," that fear diminishes, caution drops away, and a deep connection to the sacred becomes tangible.

Discussion and questions during workshops at the annual Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly pointed to the stark reality of a dearth of members able to serve as congregational leaders: Even congregations able to currently install leadership teams have to prepare for a future in which they may not be able to do so. 

At the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' annual assembly, president Rebecca Ann Gemma, a Dominican Sister of Springfield, Illinois, gave the presidential address, telling the sisters they should never lose hope, even with the changes taking place in religious life. 

At the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' annual assembly, attendees will examine how, from the vastness of the universe to the space within us, God creates life, even out of what appears to be destruction and death.

Sharing her dad's passion for the Jesus of the Scriptures, Sr. Maureen Geary was led to the Grand Rapids Dominicans in 1987. On Friday, she'll begin her year as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

The lawsuit was dismissed June 30 when a county court in Texas ruled the allegations from the Carmelite monastery involved church matters, not civil law issues. 

It will take generations to find healing from the boarding school system, but the process must start with restoration, said Samuel Torres of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. 

Arise, an anti-slavery organization based in London, is partnering with the International Union of Superiors General and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to sponsor the Sisters Anti-Trafficking Awards. 

"Beat Shazam" is a game show on the Fox network where two-person teams try to be the first to identify a song. There is a lot of music, a lot of dancing, and on June 20 there were a lot of sisters.

Monday Starter: The Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa have accepted a proposal to sell several buildings at their motherhouse campus in southwest Wisconsin, Sinsinawa Mound. 

Fort Worth bishop takes over a Carmelite monastery and accuses cloistered nun of adultery with a priest. Discalced Carmelite Nuns say the bishop does not have authority over them and call his actions a land grab.

Selma, Alabama, residents experience high levels of unemployment and poverty, and a Jan. 12  tornado made the situation worse for many. Sisters provide services and support to help them.

"We knew that we could accomplish more if we shared our talent and resources and formed a coalition to multiply efforts to end human trafficking," sisters' statement says.

Benedictine sisters have helped women strengthen their ministries as Protestant clergy through a program called Women Touched by Grace, which holds five weeklong retreats at Benedictine monasteries over two years.