VATICAN – Answering the Lord's call demands the courage to take a risk, but it is an invitation to become part of an important mission, Pope Francis said.

BHOPAL, India – A man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the mass rape of four Catholic nuns that occurred more than two decades ago in central India.

VATICAN – The hypocrisy of Catholic leaders who claimed to be guardians of morality yet remained silent about clerical sexual abuse has left the church's credibility in shambles, an African woman religious told bishops at the Vatican summit on abuse.

Our collective annual engagement in gifts at Christmas-time has wound up for the year. Consumer Christmas can be frustrating and painful, but still it recognizes and develops in us the power of gift. 

WASHINGTON – Days after the Pope acknowledged abuse of nuns and sisters by priests and bishops, the largest U.S. organization of women religious thanked the pontiff for shedding "light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public," but the group also called for measures to address the issue.

WASHINGTON – Sr. Wendy Beckett has been widely described as both an unlikely art critic and television star, but that may have been what made her all the more likeable.

At St. Mary’s University here in Calgary, we open all our meetings with a reflection. Sometimes it is the university prayer, but often it is a meditation on a relevant issue, meant to support, comfort and uplift. 

Sr. Vicky Nguyen was ready to profess her final vows this year and enter fully into the life of the Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood, but one obstacle stood in her way. Her application for Canadian permanent residence was rejected. 

VATICAN – In a book-length interview to be published next week, Pope Francis addressed gifts and challenges for clerical and religious vocations, among them the challenge of homosexuality in the clergy.

VATICAN – The International Union of Superiors General has called on women religious who have suffered abuse to come forward and report it to their congregations and church and state authorities.

For 10 of the 32 years Sr. Rosemarie Donovan lived in Nigeria, she lived in a poor rural village. She had a one-room house. She pumped her water from the well with the other women and cooked her meals over a fire. The stars in the night sky filled up the heavens.

KRAKOW, Poland – Believed to be the “oldest nun in the world,” Polish Dominican nun Sister Cecylia Maria Roszak has died at the age of 110, the Archdiocese of Krakow has announced.

VATICAN – Pope Francis asked people to give thanks to God for the gift of so many men and women living a cloistered life of total dedication to prayer.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage has appointed an independent commission to review all personnel files of clerics and religious men and women who have served in the Archdiocese of Anchorage since its canonical establishment in 1966.

For cloistered communities like the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood, interaction with the outside world can be very limited. Yet, vocations in Canada are growing for the order.