A volunteer from Forgotten Harvest food bank in Warren, Michigan, sorts jars of peanut butter during a mobile food pantry distribution Dec. 21, 2020. (CNS/Reuters/Emily Elconin)
Because the global pandemic has made most in-person events impossible, organizers of Catholic Sisters Week were struggling to come up with ideas on how to observe the annual celebration of women religious.
At the same time, members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious Region IV were discussing food insecurity, how it has grown dramatically during the pandemic, and how donors often give generously only during the holidays while the need continues year-round. Once the holidays are over, the food insecurity is still there, said Sr. Linda Romey, a Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, and the congregation s coordinator of communications and development. Romey also chairs the Communicators for Women Religious task force that organizes Catholic Sisters Week.