Catholic Ssters are exploring experientially what responding to the cry of an exploited earth might entail. For example, in 1980 the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, New Jersey, established Genesis Farm, which sought to model holistic ways whereby humankind could relate to their environments. The struggles of other valiant women such as Kenyan Wangarĩ Maathai (1940–2011) and Indian Vandana Shiva resonated with the struggles of Catholic Sisters concerned about environmental degradation. Sisters found themselves becoming part of a worldwide movement of women united in their care for creation.
For some Catholic Sisters, mission on behalf of the environment has been truly costly. Notre Dame de Namur Sr. Dorothy Stang was murdered in 2005 in Brazil because of her opposition to logging companies involved in the deforestation of that country. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ Sisters who protested against a company trying to build a 200-mile natural gas pipeline to carry shale gas from fields in northeastern Pennsylvania to distant ports were harassed because of their opposition.
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