Three stats and a map - In 1990, only 76 percent of the world’s adults could read and write. But with concerted efforts, global literacy has been on the upward swing. In 2013, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics published its literacy projections for 2015 based on data from 151 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
by GSR Staff
". . . .The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is. . . ."
by GSR Staff
GSR is traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, today to be ready for the kick-off rally of NETWORK's Nuns on the Bus "We the People, We the Voters" 5,252-mile tour through 10 states to rally and register voters in advance of the Nov. 4 midterm elections. We'll be blogging daily from the road.
by Patricia Siemen
Contributor
I’m showing up. As a baby-boomer from the U.S. As a person of faith. I am going to the People's Climate March in New York on September 21. The security of our home, planet Earth, is threatened. That’s why I’m going. It is not the terrorists, nor the immigrants, nor people who are poor that is causing this threat to Earth’s viability. It’s the continued excessive emissions of greenhouse gases created by those of us who live in highly industrialized, corporatized and technology-rich countries.
Patricia Siemen, OP, JD, is a Dominican Sister from Adrian, Michigan, and a civil attorney. Her passion is to protect the long-term ecological and spiritual health of humans and all members of the Earth community. She does this through her work as director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence (CEJ), at Barry University School of Law, Orlando, Florida.
by Beth Griffin
Contributor
During a crush of events in New York September 19-28, religious congregations will join a throaty and growing chorus of voices raised in support of an anticipated 2015 global agreement on climate change mitigation. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited governments and private-sector representatives to the ambitious United Nations Climate Summit on Sept. 23 for an early opportunity to commit to substantial, replicable, concrete actions to reduce carbon emissions. A People's Climate March is planned for Sept. 21 and is expected to draw 200,000 to 700,000 participants to Manhattan's west side.
Loretto Sr. Jeannine Gramick is the co-founder, with Fr. Robert Nugent, of New Ways Ministry, a social justice center that educates and advocates for justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Catholics, and reconciliation within the larger church and civil communities. You can visit New Ways Ministry at https://www.newwaysministry.org.
by Jane Wakahiu
Contributor
Catholic sisters provide healing, care, hope, courage and education in Africa and improve the quality of life for those suffering hardships in rural communities. A visit to the Maria Adelaide Center threw into sharp relief the shared story of countless rural girls who are liberated from cultural practices that hold them captive bodily, psychologically and socially.
Nuns in central Vietnam are helping sick children and those affected by HIV/AIDS to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Known in Vietnam as Tet Trung Thu, the holiday marks the traditional end of the harvest season and is one of the year’s biggest festivals. The chlidren otherwise would have little to look forward to.
From A Nun's Life podcasts - Listen: What are some of the best things about being an Adrian Dominican sister? Hint, "it's a wide, global order." Take a few minutes to listen in.
