Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See, Chiara Porro, chaired the opening panel of the two-day International Union of Superiors General Advocacy Forum in Rome last month, speaking on the theme: “Religious women: leadership and development”, reports Vatican News.

Religious women from around the world participated in the forum, discussing their work on issues such as climate change, poverty, human trafficking and migration.

Sr Jean Quinn of UNANIMAIntl, Sister Durstyne Farnan , Dominican UN representative and Sr Teresia Wachira of PaxChristi with Australian Ambassador to the Holy See, Chiara Porro. PHOTO: Chiarra Porro X (Twitter).

The UISG Forum takes a multi-thematic approach, recognising the interconnected nature of the most pressing challenges affecting the development of societies and the planet.

Many of the speakers at the event are experts working in advocacy for the most vulnerable people and most complex issues of our time, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, poverty, unemployment and social inequality, forced migration and human trafficking, health crises, and violations of human rights.

After chairing the opening panel, Ms Porro said events like this forum are “incredibly important” for religious women to network and be supported in their work.

“The religious women are working at the grassroots level all around the world, and so they have a very unique perspective to offer. It’s very important that they have a seat at the table and that their voices are heard because they have such a unique perspective to bring,” she said.

Ms Porro said the diversity of issues that sisters work on range from the protection of the environment to the protection of victims of human trafficking. “They’re really working at the margins with the most vulnerable.”

This article is drawn from an article by Sr Nina Benedikta Krapić VMZ in Vatican News (via CathNews).