Leadership Conference of Women Religious Explores Critical Issues Against Backdrop of Vatican Studies
[New Orleans, LA] Meeting in assembly in New Orleans from August 11 to 14, approximately 800 leaders of US orders of Catholic sisters engaged speakers and one another on some of the most critical issues facing Catholic orders, the Catholic Church, and the people they serve.
Aware of the devastation of New Orleans, the restoration of the coastal wetlands of Louisiana, and climate change, the members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) met under the theme “Women of Spirit: Creating in Chaos.” The assembly began with 250 members touring the work sites and housing of Catholic sisters that had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. LCWR had co-sponsored a recovery project that raised more than $7 million which enabled sisters to remain in New Orleans and restore their works in education, healthcare, and social services.
Several hundred of the leaders held an outdoor public prayer service on the banks of the Mississippi River where they learned more about the ruinous effects of coastal wetland erosion.
They also unanimously affirmed a resolution to take measurable steps to reduce their orders’ carbon footprints.
