News

Sunday February 8, 2015 marked the first International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.  Held on the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Catholic sister who escaped slavery in 1889, the day promoted awareness of trafficking and offered “compounded prayer” to survivors of trafficking. Find out more about this first ever day of prayer, and some of the Catholic Church’s work against trafficking in the U.S. and globally.   Read more at: Catholics called to do everything in their power to end trafficking For resources to raise awareness of human trafficking, please visit the U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking website.

On January 1st, the Vatican released Pope Francis’ message for the 48th World Day of Peace entitled, “Slaves no more, but brothers and sisters.” The message calls for an end to human trafficking and slavery— a strong priority and concern of Pope Francis. Read about Catholic sisters who were instrumental in the Pope’s choice of this theme.

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace released a plan, Expanding the Catholic Church’s Commitment to the Ebola Emergency Response, which provides details of how the Church has responded to the Ebola crisis to date on the local level and what more needs to be done. (CNS, 01.07.2015) The plan notes that “the Church has been providing health care for decades in this region and is an essential part of the overall health care infrastructure. The health care system has been overwhelmed by this epidemic and already had been facing grave challenges as a result of years of armed conflict, social unrest, and abject poverty.” Read more at: “Expanding the Catholic Church’s Commitment to the Ebola Emergency Response“

On the ground in Liberia, Msgr. Robert Vitillo of Caritas International reflects on the “No Touch” policy in place to address the current Ebola epidemic in Ebola-affected countries in Africa. “From the moment that our plane touched down, we were confronted with buckets of bleach water…and with people armed with ‘gun thermometers’ to take our temperatures before we could even step into the terminal building,” Msgr. Vitillo said. Learn more about what the international community can do to help.

During this season of Pentecost, Pope Francis has invited us to reflect on the ways we allow the Holy Spirit to come and transform our own lives. While celebrating mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis called on Catholics to reflect about “the living memory of the Church” which “solicits a response from us…The more generous our response the more Jesus’ words become life in us, become attitudes, choices, deeds, witnesses.”    To read the Pope’s Pentecostal homily, click here.

Over 75 young people in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO, shared how women religious have played a meaningful role in their lives and communities in a recent essay contest held by the Incarnate Word Foundation, a FADICA member. ;In a proclamation presented at the awards ceremony, St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay designated March 31st as Catholic Sisters Day.  In recognition of Catholic Sisters Week, a new part of Women’s History month in March, students from grades 5-12 honored both past and present women religious, from their favorite teachers and principals, to religious orders of women, highlighting their historical significance and ongoing contributions.  Over 20 students read their winning essays during a moving ceremony attended by women religious who were featured in the essays at the School of Sisters of Notre Dame in Lemay.  To read St. Louis Review’s article on the event, click here.

The National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) recently received a $2.5 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. NRRO initiatives will help religious communities in the United States address retirement-funding shortfalls, improve future services, and identify best practices. “Words cannot express our gratitude to The Hilton Foundation”, said NRRO Executive Director Sister Janice Bader. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by Conrad N. Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels. The grant is part of the Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative, launched in 2013, which seeks to enhance the vitality of congregations throughout the world, enabling sisters to minister more widely and effectively. It furnishes strategic support for three primary areas: membership, resources and congregational leadership.  Learn more:  http://www.usccb.org/news/2014/14-015.cfm

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After Pope Francis entrusted two Vatican academies to study the problem of human trafficking, a group of women religious asked the pope to raise greater awareness in the church about the issue by establishing a worldwide day of prayer and fasting. “The pope was very interested in our suggestion and asked us what date we would like the day to be,” Consolata Sister Eugenia Bonetti told Catholic News Service. Go to the Catholic News Service article to find out which day they proposed!By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, 11/4/2013

A new initiative launched with assistance from two FADICA members, Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, is comprised of women religious from across the country who are leading ministries for trafficking victims, and anti-trafficking efforts.  The group held its second meeting in September in Washington DC where they coordinated plans to educate people in parishes about human trafficking through the lens of Catholic social analysis, and to engage other religious congregations to provide scholarships and employment assistance to survivors.

The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC) are developing new initiatives in Texas to promote civic and church leadership among southwestern college students.   Both San Antonio institutions serve predominantly Hispanic student populations.  Nationally, Hispanics are part of a vital church trend, representing 35% of U.S. Catholics overall and 50% of those under 26. Yet only 13% hold a bachelors degree. Higher education will help Hispanic Catholics develop as leaders, improve their communities’ prospects and deepen their intellectual contributions toward the church’s future. Following more than forty years of collaboration serving the Hispanic community, UIW and MACC are offering a new bilingual undergraduate degree in Pastoral Ministry to prepare their students for leadership within the culturally diverse contemporary church.  The degree is offered by UIW with additional courses taught by MACC faculty; students will be drawn from both campuses. UIW has also entered into a partnership with CHRISTUS Health to create a Center for Civic Leadership.  The new Center will facilitate opportunities for civic leader development guided by the values of Catholic Social Teaching, strengthening existing local partnerships and connecting with global health and education efforts.   In reflection of UIW’s wider commitment to community service and social justice, it joined with Catholic Charities in 2012 to expand service-learning opportunities within the Refugee Resettlement Program in San Antonio. UIW is an active member of the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge and hosted a Regional Interfaith Conference in August 2013 to engage higher education and religious leaders in