The delegates at the bishops' youth synod this month will hear few, if any, women's voices during the meeting, so more than 50 advocates and scholars gathered ahead of time to launch a new book and draw attention to the need for more women in church leadership and reforms.

Daughter of St. Paul Sr. Rose Pacatte, the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies and a film critic for National Catholic Reporter, takes inspiration from the words of French film critic André Bazin: "Cinema has always been interested in God."

For four years, I've been a part of the American Benedictine Academy, which works to pass on Benedictine values. Our biennial conference this year celebrated modern "artisans of the monastery." It brought together more than 100 artists, writers, musicians, craftspeople and art appreciators at St. Benedict Monastery in Minnesota, including a large number of oblates.

Women religious from various congregations are quietly tapping into their faith to advocate for the undocumented. Some of these women happen to be immigration attorneys. Sisters with legal expertise are on the frontlines of changing immigration policies that brought about the separation of families at the border and that made it more difficult for Central Americans to gain asylum.

This story appears in the See for Yourself feature series. View the full series.

by Nancy Linenkugel

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I'm thinking about the word "chain." Chain letters are fraudulent. A chain smoker often lights the next cigarette from the one currently burning. Chain reactions can be bad, such as your car gets hit, which forces you to hit the next car. Or chain reactions can be good, such as a movement to pay it forward.