A Catholic women's leadership organization, the GIVEN Institute, which aims to encourage and train young women in leadership roles in the church and society, officially launched Sept. 12.

The Nuns and Nones project seeks to bring these two groups together in order to explore new forms of community life, help millennials see models for sustainable activism and create an intergenerational network of connections.

More than 6,700 Catholic women religious are among those helping more than 1 million people taking shelter in relief camps after unprecedented floods ravaged Kerala state in southwest India.

The Irish people "have struggled and come through because they have faith," says Sister Liz Murphy, R.S.M., on the eve of a visit from Pope Francis.

Advocates of ordaining women as Roman Catholic priests cite the church's unfolding sex abuse scandals as powerful arguments for their cause, while acknowledging the high unlikelihood of achieving their goal anytime soon.

The university held a campus party with students and school staffers Tuesday for Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.