November 19, 2021 – Here’s a roundup of some recent news on religious life.
The revelations about the mistreatment of Native Americans at Catholic boarding schools has prompted both outrage as well as introspection. “Taking Responsibility,” an initiative of Fordham University, will hold a special session on Jesuit involvement in boarding schools, “Jesuits and Boarding Schools: Truth, Reconciliation, Responsibility” on December 7. Sign up for the virtual event here.
America profiles several newer religious sisters in “Meet the Millennial Nuns.”
Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 25 to 40 today), are not a religious lot. Only one in four (27 percent) attend religious services weekly….Generally speaking, millennials don’t like rules, which is one of the reasons they cite for resisting religion, said Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology….She also sees them as products of the trends in American culture during the past half century. “This precipitous decline in religious commitment and participation is likely due primarily to the rise in individualism, with more reliance on the self than on social rules,” she said.
Given these trends, it would seem a miracle would need to take place for a millennial woman to enter religious life—but it is happening.
Global Sisters Report documents the changes the religious conference of Congo, including its merger from separate men’s and women’s conferences into a single entity.
Vatican News announces that Charles De Foucauld, founder of the Congregation of the Little Brothers of Jesus, will be canonized next year.
The Jersey Journal ran a story on how religious brothers – such as the Brothers of Christian Instruction, but also the religious brothers of communities who ordain men – model community.
Finally, if you need a palate cleanser, here’s a beautiful rendition of the Suscipe by a group of Jesuits in Spanish and English:
