by Joshua J. McElwee

News Editor

View Author Profile

jmcelwee@ncronline.org

Rome - Sr. Sally Hodgdon said there are two nonordained religious brothers serving as full voting members of the Vatican's synod on young people, while seven sisters have nonvoting roles. "That should change."

Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Sr. Anna Ngo Thi Phuc provides free medical treatment to leprosy patients at a state-run hospital in south-central Vietnam. Many patients live in poverty, abandoned by relatives. Phuc visits them daily, tends to their wounds and listens to their feelings. She spoke to GSR about her ministry.

Adele McKiernan is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they studied history and integrated liberal studies. They are now a second-year Loretto Volunteer in St. Louis working at Missouri Health Care for All, as a Grassroots Organizing Fellow.

After Samantha Wirth graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in global studies from St. Mary's College in Indiana, the globetrotting sushi fanatic completed her first year of service at Collier High School in New Jersey with Good Shepherd Volunteers. After reaffirming her appreciation of intentional living and social justice, she knew she needed another year to learn, grow and play more board games, this time as the Public Policy Fellow for Good Shepherd Services in New York City.