The International Rescue Committee in Garden City, Kansas, is closing down in September, one of the casualties of Trump administration policies to reduce the number of refugees settling in the U.S., echoing a political ethos that first began brewing in Kansas in 2015. More than 22 percent of Garden City's residents are foreign-born, even though Kansas isn't a major primary resettlement destination — but there is ready employment in the meat-packing industry.

• Also in this series: Fitting in without losing cultural roots, Burmese refugees advance in Indiana

"Do I take the time to make a difference by simply offering a kind word, a gentle touch, a sacred space for another to share their story, or a caring message to be felt at the level of the heart and soul?"

Forty girls entering their sophomore and junior years in high schools affiliated with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in the U.S., Canada and Lesotho said they wanted to attend the Youth Justice Forum with the sisters to meet girls from other parts of the world who care about social justice. They also wanted to learn more about ways to promote their causes.

An Australian missionary nun ordered deported in mid-July by Philippine authorities is not leaving the country just yet. Sr. Patricia Fox, Philippine superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, won a reprieve after her lawyers filed a motion for reconsideration July 22.

"When people are given the right information on this issue and when they are given the time to deliberate on it, they really understand what is happening and want robust measures."

As religious communities undergo transition, we can learn from the "open-source" approach to software development to help better shape our communities' futures.

Sr. Maureen Turlish was a founding member of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition and Catholic Whistleblowers and was also active in the Philadelphia chapter of Voice of the Faithful. She was also a contributor to National Catholic Reporter.

Sr. Phyllis Hughes started working in health care so long ago, there were no copy machines and no computers. Intensive care units were a brand-new idea.More than 51 years later, the Mercy sister had a chance to look back on that career as she accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Catholic Health Association on June 10.

"The artificial separation between humans and cosmos is at the root of contemporary moral confusion."