WelCom April 2020:
The International Union of Superiors General (UISG) in Rome has set up a three-year study to find ways to respond to Religious sisters’ needs. Stress and burnout have been identified as major reasons many women Religious abandon religious life. Of the world’s 650,000 women religious, it appears burnout is causing a weakening of vocations. Sisters who feel overworked and exhausted are leaving. Burnout is known to be a major factor for people working in the social or service professions. Commenting on the Sisters’ situation, a priest who is also a medical doctor says burnout is a ‘disease of giving’. When the vocation involves ‘giving one’s life’, there are no limits, he says.