For religious women and men throughout Brazil, the World Cup Games are seen as a “mega event” that will augment an already very serious violation against human dignity: human trafficking in its various forms. We know that this is highly organized crime, with national and international networks of procurers, transporters and sellers. But religious have been organizing, too.

#YesAllWomen - In early May, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights presented the results of their survey looking at gender-based violence against women in the European Union. The FRA conducted one-on-one interviews with 42,000 women from all 28 member states, asking them about their experiences with physical and sexual violence.

Sr. Bernadette Teasdale's work over the past 30 years built up the Center for Contemplative Living, which now serves more than 4,000 people and is supported by a staff of 90 volunteers. Retreats and workshops there follow the centering prayer practice, especially the work of Trappist Fr. Thomas Keating.

A common good implies a cosmic good; the good of any one part is the good of the whole. The problem of religion today as the glue of the common good is the radical disconnect of religion from the whole. If indeed religion is the core dimension of human life, and life is fragmented politically, socially, religiously and economically, it is no wonder that the fastest growing spirituality today is that of the "NONES" or those of no institutional affiliation?

Sr. Tariro Chimanyiwa is a Zimbabwean sister who now is head of Emerald Hill School and Home for the Deaf on the outskirts of Harare. The kindness of Dominican sisters at her high school years set her on a path that her mother found difficult to accept.

From Cameroon to northern Italy and from Montreal to the Vatican, statements expressing "great joy" accompanied the news that a Canadian sister of Notre-Dame and two Italian missionary priests were released unharmed almost two months after being kidnapped in northern Cameroon.

GSR Today - On June 12, 2014, the FIFA World Cup will start its soccer matches in several venues across Brazil. As the tournament draws closer, so does a heightened concern among human rights workers, men and women religious and churches about the potential for human trafficking.  

Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam is particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather. The plains where people can cultivate crops are only about 66 feet above sea level. And in this part of the world, the annual rainy season causes flooding that makes farming quite difficult, so nuns here have taken the lead to help. Their goal is to work with people to develop climate-resilient livelihood options and to plan for the impacts of climate change in areas prone to natural disasters such as annual flooding.

GSR Today - Each day we read about the religious wars in various parts of the world, people claiming their dedication to God and God’s favor of them over others. How will we ever learn to respect and appreciate that God is One and that we all share commitment to that One but in different ways?