by George Rodriguez
Contributor
The Sisters of Our Lady of Sion in San Jose, Costa Rica, focus on education and dialogue as a means to achieve peace. They run a school, youth and women's social programs, and their Center for Biblical Studies and Judeo-Christian Relations at their congregation's headquarters in Moravia, in the northeastern outskirts of San José.
Cody Weddle is a multimedia freelance journalist located in Caracas, Venezuela. Originally from rural southwest Virginia, he moved to Venezuela nearly three years ago. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for a Latin American international news channel and in local TV news in the United States. Weddle is a 2012 graduate of Virginia Tech, where he holds degrees in journalism and political science. Follow him on Twitter: @coweddle.
After arriving in West Virginia in 1976, St. Joseph Sr. Gretchen Shaffer co-founded a school for a town that didn't have one. Though retired now, she is still a constant presence in the area, continuing to minister to the powerless.
by GSR Staff
"You have to be a visionary – to see the beauty, to hold the truth, to see in a way others don’t."
by Christian E. Ruehling
Notes from the Field - Most people would agree that time flies. But for me, it did not. My year of service was slow. The year never seemed to end, but I appreciated that I had more time to enjoy the year and to do the work that I set out to accomplish.
by GSR Staff
"If standing up for justice and for peace for all people should call us to leave behind what's comfortable and what's safe, will we, too, be compelled?"
by Jeannine Gramick
Contributor
An international network of priest associations and reform groups gathered in Chicago last October. I was eager to see if wounds previously felt by the group around women's issues in the church had healed. Would there be any movement in the group's willingness to accept women in more visible liturgical roles? Or would the same fears and concerns resurface?
Sr. Mary Joan Njeri, an OB-GYN, made a conscious decision to work in a public hospital where women in Nairobi's largest slum who can't afford to go anywhere else come and give birth.
by GSR Staff
"I am hopeful to maintain this awakened outlook in the face of a world seeming to bleed and disintegrate endlessly as it cries for release from the force of some kind of captivity. "
After the Cold War, Catholic sisters and peace activists never entirely dropped the issue of nuclear disarmament. But now, rising international tensions and the election of Donald Trump have renewed worries about the proliferation and the nuclear threat to life on Earth.
