For those who pay attention to the United Nations, this year is shaping up to be something of a milestone, with the last half of the year in particular taking pride of place for global significance. Three major conferences — on financing for development, sustainable development goals and climate change — take place this year, and with their leadership of committees, subcommittees, forums and working groups, Catholic sisters have carved out a well-respected niche in the U.N. system.

"The way you will move into the future must be influenced by those rich gifts which you still have to offer — and must for the good of the world."

Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Sí, accents both the challenges and responsibilities we have to safeguard God’s creation. While there are many passages worthy of reflection and discussion I will concentrate on the connection he makes between climate change and poverty. A quotation in the encyclical from the Bolivian Bishops Conference resonated deeply within me: “Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.”

In the penultimate address at this year’s Leadership Conference of Women Religious national assembly, former LCWR executive director St. Joseph Sr. Janet Mock made some of her most pointed public remarks on the Vatican’s now-concluded LCWR doctrinal assessment and mandate. The Houston assembly marked the first time the general membership had met since the Vatican’s controversial oversight of the group ended in April, and LCWR leaders had only been speaking to select media outlets in the interim, wanting to save further discussion until everyone had a chance to reflect together.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious membership on Friday morning voted to adopt a resolution that commits member congregations to addressing systemic causes of injustice. While the resolution itself is broad, the focus of the resolution presentation, unquestionably, was immigration and the detention of women and children seeking asylum.

Sr. Janet Mock said it is not she, but those around her who deserve accolades. “I have no illusions — everything I learned about leadership, I learned from you and your predecessors,” she told the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ annual assembly after accepting the group’s Outstanding Leadership Award at their banquet Friday evening. LCWR officials said Mock not only provided extraordinary leadership as their executive director, but did it “through one of the conference’s most profound and transformative challenges — the doctrinal assessment of LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and its subsequent mandate.”

GSR Today - The LCWR annual assembly last week in Houston was upbeat and produced a number of stories. Use this link to access all of Global Sisters Report's coverage. Click here for a quick list of all the LCWR 2015 assembly stories, or click into this post for more options, including our Storify collection of tweets from the assembly.

GSR Today - Not all of the activity at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' annual assembly is worthy of a separate news story. Still, your GSR reporting team is here from gavel to gavel, and we know our readers are following along with great interest, so here's a wrap-up of some of the things that didn't make the big headlines at the conference.

Sr. Mary Pellegrino, a Sister of St. Joseph, was installed Friday as the president-elect of the nation’s largest leadership group for women religious, LCWR, which is closing its annual assembly this evening (Aug. 14). In Pellegrino's candidate materials, she said the critical issues for LCWR in the next three years are to remain both learners and leaders while discerning the most appropriate use of the group’s moral authority. She also said LCWR needs to continue to integrate the contemplative process into all the organization’s work.

Wednesday’s psalm antiphon (Psalm 66) proclaims what my heart feels after attending the Giving Voice National Conference in Kansas City last weekend. The theme “Crossing Boundaries in Religious Life,” took shape through the more than seventy sisters under the age of 50 who gathered. Srs. Tere Maya and Sophia Park gave us much to ponder in their keynote addresses. Speaking about the generational and cultural dynamics at work in the church and in religious life today, they named realities that both affirm and challenge me as a young sister. The honest conversations were powerful kindling for the flame inside of me. Let me pass on some of that honesty.