Sr. Camille D’Arienzo, National Catholic Reporter| January 5, 2016

Interview with Jean Kelly,  Executive Director of The INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network)

Sr. Camille: Jean, often when I interview people they cite teachers whom they admire and who have inspired them. During a recent conversation with some of your teachers at Our Lady of Mercy Academy I found the tables turned: they spoke admiringly of you as they described the modeling you provide as a generous young woman who volunteers at The INN [Interfaith Nutrition Network], a soup kitchen in Wyandanch, Long Island, created by the Sisters of Mercy a quarter century ago and now in the care of others. What is it the service you provide there and how often do you help there?  (more…)

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Carol Glatz, December 23, 2014 | Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY —  God is knocking to come into people’s lives, so be attentive, humble and courageous to let him in, Pope Francis said.

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 Tom Gallagher, National Catholic Reporter |  December 9, 2015

For the second time in five months, the cover story for the iconic National Geographic magazine highlights a foundational aspect of the Catholic faith. In August, for the first time ever, a pope graced the cover of the magazine. In September, I wrote “The story behind National Geographic’s Pope Francis story.”

This month’s cover story is on Mary, the mother of Jesus, titled, “How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman: Mary barely speaks in the New Testament, but her image and legacy are found and celebrated around the world.”  (more…)

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Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter | Nov. 15, 2015

Rome  Pope Francis on Sunday again strongly condemned the recent horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, saying he wanted to express closeness to the families of the victims and calling any religious justification for such attacks “blasphemy.”

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Colleen Gibson, Global Sisters Report | October 30, 2015

Big questions matter.

“How do you believe that change is possible, when the present seems to be filled with the same old things?” An undergrad at Georgetown University asked me this as I came to the end of my remarks on the nature of vocation and the role of smart, Catholic women in the church.

“How do you find your place in the world?” another young woman asked the next day as I sat on a panel of women of different faiths.

“What do you do when the questions shift from should I do this with my life to will I do this with my life?” a student looked me square in the eye as we talked about her journey and call.  (more…)

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Gail DeGeorge, National Catholic Reporter |  Oct. 26, 2015

Women play a key role in helping to fulfill Pope Francis’ message of mercy, service and compassion, three women leaders of the largest Catholic social service organizations said in a panel discussion at Georgetown University on Oct. 22.

The wide-ranging session, “Women Taking the Lead: Acting on Pope Francis’ Message,” also touched on women’s progress within the church, leadership challenges within a male-dominated hierarchy and prospects for women’s ordination. The panel, consisting of Sr. Donna Markham, president of Catholic Charities, Carolyn Woo, president of Catholic Relief Services and Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, was part of a series of public dialogues hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life and moderated by center director John Carr.  (more…)

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Robert J. Wicks, National Catholic Reporter | October 20, 2015

I’m back from Beirut, where I presented a workshop on resilience to the Blue Marists, a group of laywomen, laymen and brothers serving refugees in war-ravaged Aleppo, Syria. I’ve been following stories in the media about the suffering refugees are enduring on their dangerous journey to what they hope is a better future. Amazingly, I’ve seen little about caregivers who have remained in Syria to provide aid and comfort to those who are hungry, thirsty and urgently need medicine.

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Victoria Larson, Global Sisters Report | October 22, 2016

The Economic and Social Council Chamber at the United Nations headquarters is typically buzzing with ambassadors and representatives in suits and interns frantically taking notes, creating a constant clicking of pens and laptops. But on Oct. 10, 2014, I walked into the ECOSOC chamber to find hundreds of girls from around the country with their mentors, chatting and anxious for the event that was about to start. I had only begun my position with UNANIMA International, a coalition of 20 congregations of women religious which advocates at the U.N., a few months prior. The energy was truly palpable and has stayed with me since. From that afternoon forward, I have centered much of my work on girls’ rights.  (more…)

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Dan Stockman, Global Sisters Report | October 15, 2015

Spending her religious life as part of a Christian minority in Muslim North Africa helped prepare Sr. Carmen Sammut for the diversity of opinions and backgrounds shared at the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops on the family.

Sammut, head of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and one of three sisters auditing the historic gathering, said circumstances and thoughts brought to the synod are so much more diverse than the simple conservative vs. progressive narrative often described in the media.

“One of the things I appreciate very much being in the synod is the universality — the whole world is there,” said Sammut, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa who is originally from Malta. “The groups are made up to have very big differences, to have very different backgrounds. People from the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Europe — you have very, very varied experiences.”

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Tom Smith, National Catholic Reporter | October 6, 2015

I slid into the fourth pew from the back on the left side of Dahlgren Chapel at Georgetown University. It was a 1975 summer evening with a soft sun backlighting the five-paneled stained-glass window featuring the Sacred Heart of Jesus behind the altar. It was quiet, a solemn quiet. I was on my knees and then, in a slow-moving but eerie transition, I was no longer in the fourth pew from the back on the left side of the chapel in Georgetown University.

I didn’t know where I was, but I felt a light touching my soul. It was peaceful, stirring, fully engaging, and warm with a gentle tingle that I knew was massaging my spirit. I felt the light absorb me and infuse me with acceptance and verification, words that do not do justice to the experience but are still minimally accurate.  (more…)

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