GSR Today - People are always surprised when I tell them how small the Global Sisters Report staff actually is. The fact of the matter is, while we have correspondents all over the world (that’s how we get all those global stories!) there are just four of us in the Kansas City office. Personally, I think we get a lot done for such a tiny group, but there are still times I wish we had more hands to do more things.

Benedictine Sr. Angela Hoffman thinks there’s a chance plants and fungi could provide a natural cure for cancer. She hasn’t found anything yet, but as a biochemist and professor at Portland University, she – along with her research students – continues to log hours in the lab looking. Earlier this month, the 2014 Oregon Academy of Science award winner for outstanding higher education in science and mathematics spoke to Global Sisters Report about her work.

Commentary - The virtual treaty that called an end to the Vatican's supervision of the LCWR has been generally hailed as a victory of the sisters' wisdom and perseverance over bad judgment and worse politics. I'd prefer to agree with that but don't. While it doesn't please me one bit to see this outcome as strengthening the status quo, I believe that's what it amounts to.

Leaders of the main representative group of U.S. Catholic sisters said their recent annual trip to Rome to visit Vatican offices was productive and resulted in "very rich" conversations about problems facing the church and society globally. Two of the elected representatives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious spoke to NCR about the trip in an interview Sunday.

"Arching overhead blossoms flowerfall into spring. What are our overarching creative ideas that will bring new life?"

This week marks Global Sisters Report’s first anniversary as a website bringing you news about Catholic sisters around the world and the people they work with – as well as their own knowledge and opinions through their writing. We’ve published work by nearly 200 different people and posted 1,257 different articles. Here's a list of your favorites.

GSR Today - April 23 marks the official launch of the Global Sisters Report website, making this week fitting to look back on the journey we have been on. It’s no overstatement to say that there is nothing better than being constantly inspired by the people you’re writing about.

Sr. Teresita Abraham and the Presentation Sisters purchased land in September about 22 miles outside the town of Kaomain the Zambia’s southwestern province and are now in the process of building and landscaping the property as an eco-spiritual retreat and education center. Local volunteers are taking part in building the “Garden of Oneness” to be a place for quiet connection to the ecological side of spirituality, celebrating the close ties between traditional spiritual practices in Africa and nature.

I was so excited to read an interview in the spring issue of YES! magazine between Ralph Nader and Daniel McCarthy by Sarah van Gelder. When I finished I felt this is an example of exercising contemplative power. Although no spiritual practice was mentioned during the interview, what I read resonated with me. The interview became a container creating a safe space for Nader and McCarthy to explore their differences and their commonalities. These two men behaved in ways that invited something new to emerge.

Catholic women religious and observers reacted with notable – but muted – relief to Thursday’s news that Vatican oversight of their largest leadership group had ended two years early. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has accepted a final report of the doctrinal assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, officials said, ending the controversial investigation of the group that represents 80 percent of the roughly 50,000 women religious in the United States.