A Catholic sister has added her voice to those protesting Detroit’s aggressive campaign to shut off water to thousands of households in arrears on their water bills. For Sister of Mercy Mary Ellen Howard, the fight here is elemental. “Water is life,” she said, “when you shut off water, you shut off life.” Howard, a Detroit native, was one of 10 religious leaders and community activists arrested July 10 while blockading the entrance to Homrich Wrecking Inc., a private company contracted by the city to do residential shut-offs.

GSR Today - The United Nations marked the first World Day Against Trafficking in Persons July 30 "to raise awareness of this issue among the general public, policy-makers and civil society. The World Day provides an opportunity for the world to act to end this crime and show solidarity with its victims."

St. Joseph Hospital, run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition in Jerusalem, is treating wounded Gaza residents. Sr. Muna Totah said the nuns' presence helps the patients and their families face their challenges, regardless of their religion. "They know we are here to keep them and care for them," she said. "They call us angels and feel our love."

Current church teachings on women's roles; human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; and birth control are, to my mind, obvious examples of decisions made without sufficient consultation with the faithful. While carefully distinguishing between public opinion and the "sense of the faithful," the statement nevertheless values the role of public opinion and lists helpful criteria for Catholics to evaluate the important dispositions needed to participate in the sensus fidei.

Sr. Kathleen Erickson first went to serve on the United States’ southern border with Mexico in 1991. She served there 18 years and recently, she’s been speaking out on the root causes of the immigration crisis. Most of the children are coming from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Erickson was an international observer of the Honduran elections last November and spent five weeks in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, earlier this summer.

Three stats and a map - Most climate scientists agree that the time to find clean and renewable sources of energy is now. And although officials from Accra to Ontario are moving toward solar power, there are still questions about clean energy best practices.

Sr. Julie George believes God has called her to seek justice on behalf of women. A human rights lawyer and a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit in India, she is director of Streevani, a women’s empowerment organization. She said, "Many women would never have reached the court without our help."

"Compassion is the basis of morality."

Most people remember the 1979 Three Mile Island disaster, but few have heard of the uranium tailings pond break that sent contaminated waters from near Gallup, N.M., to as far as Winslow, Ariz., 35 years ago – that same year. Even today the contamination rests under foot and threatens distant waterways and lands, and those of us nearby mark the annual progress.

GSR Today - The way we understand the Bible is important. How we are taught the Bible – that is, how religious authorities understand the Bible – is important