Grace on the Margins - The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family has cast a new spotlight on the Roman Catholic church's teachings on divorce and remarriage. According to doctrine, Catholics who divorce and remarry outside of the church are prohibited from receiving the Eucharist. For decades, theologian and ethicist Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley has written about the church's teaching on divorce and remarriage, asking new questions about the nature of commitment and the conditions for release from obligations. She does this work most notably in her books. NCR sat with Farley to discuss these themes and her own take on the possibilities for change in the church's teaching.

In an effort to help lay Catholics gain a deeper understanding of religious life, priests, brothers and women religious intend to open their convents, monasteries, abbeys and religious houses to the public one day next February.

Three Stats and a Map - On Sept. 10, President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes in Syria in an effort to combat ISIL, the militant Islamist group that has taken over large portions of Iraq and driven Christians from their homes. Many religious leaders, including Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, decried military intervention in Syria, hoping instead for a peaceful diplomatic solution.

"I have noticed in all the serious circumstances of my life that nature always reflected the image of my soul."

Sr. Mary Nguyen Thi Hong Que, a member of Tam Hiep Dominican Sisters based in Bien Hoa City, southern Vietnam, heads the education program of the Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese’s Family Ministry Committee. She is a marriage guidance counselor, busy giving talks on leadership and life-coping skills to Catholic youths, women, lay leaders, priests and women religious throughout the country.

Benedictine Sr. Christine Vladimiroff, who as prioress in 2001 refused to follow a Vatican order that she prohibit another member of her community from speaking at a conference advocating ordination of women, died Sept. 25 at Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pa., following a long illness. She was 74.

GSR Today - You can join hundreds of women religious who have been sending letters of support to the immigrant families detained on the U.S. side of the border waiting for their hearings, with help from Catholic Legal Immigration Network.

Since 2006, large waves of refugees fleeing from brutal regimes in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia have made their way to Israel, surviving harrowing journeys with smugglers in harsh desert conditions. Altogether, there are approximately 55,000 African asylum seekers in Israel, 35,000 from Eritrea alone. Sr. Azezet Kidane of Comboni Sisters was honored for her role in exposing existence of torture camps in Sinai desert. Now, she must help her community heal.

See for Yourself - Recently I happened to be heading toward downtown Cincinnati on I-75 south. I couldn’t tell you how many hundreds of times I’ve driven on I-75, as this is one of two major expressways through the city. I-75 starts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and goes all the way to Florida, so Cincinnati is part of the north-south traverse of this major highway. 

"What if we were willing to shift our hold on our individual truth so as to affirm the emerging truth of the whole?"