Horizons - The summer of 2012, I gave God an ultimatum. I would train to run 26.2 miles and pray all along the way, and by the time I reached the finish line in November, God would answer the question on my heart: Was I being called to religious life?

Ahead of the Oct. 6 Senate vote that appointed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore sent a letter urging all female senators to vote no.

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas said they are "outraged and appalled" by a recent report of migrant children being moved to a tent city in Texas, adding that what is happening now "pales in comparison to the trauma and uncertainty these young girls and boys and their families will experience for years to come."

From A Nun's Life podcasts - In this Random Nun Clip, a writer asks how to create a convincing nun character for a new novel.

The mysteries and beauties of nature, especially reflected in the bees she tends, provide Sr. Helen Therese Scasny hours of prayer and reflection. "I feel God in all of this. And I respect the noble work of God's creatures, the bees."

The 145-member Dominican Sisters of Hope and local officials in Westchester County, New York, announced Sept. 28 that slightly more than half of the sisters' 61-acre property along the Hudson River will be closed to further development, a move the congregation said "protects significant ecological resources."

Recent Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility actions include shareholder resolutions that pressured Smith and Wesson to find ways to improve gun safety. Adrian Dominican Sr. Judy Byron, a leader in that movement, was honored by the group along with Mercy Sr. Susan Vickers, vice president of corporate responsibility for Dignity Health, the Mercy Sisters' health care system.

A state court in southern India has denied bail to a Catholic bishop accused of raping a nun on grounds that he could influence witnesses if released from jail. The High Court of Kerala said Oct. 3 that releasing Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar would not help the investigation or deliver justice in an "efficient, smooth and fair" manner.

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.

In response to current scandals, clericalism and the need for reform, Catholic women must take the initiative and make their voices be heard, according to a series of articles in a Vatican magazine.