Sr Keehan, DC, is the former head of the Catholic Health Association. Her crusading work in US health care led her to defy the US bishops' conference to support President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Keehan was recognised with the Spirit of Francis Award from Catholic Extension, a Chicago-based nonprofit organisation that assists ministries in poor dioceses.

Archbishop Christoph Pierre, the Vatican's nuncio to the United States, read a message from Pope Francis at an awards banquet on May 25 at the Library of Congress.

"His Holiness willingly associates himself with this recognition of her many years of dedicated leadership in continuing the healing ministry of Jesus Christ through the provision of quality health care for all, especially those most in need," the message read, referring to Sister Keehan.

"He appreciates as well her generous service to the Holy See and her fidelity to the charism of Saint Vincent de Paul, carrying out the apostolate of charity in ‘the consciousness that we are responsible for the fragility of others as we strive to build a common future' ("Fratelli Tutti," 115)."

It continued, "To Sister Carol, and to all who gathered for this happy occasion, the Holy Father cordially sends his blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord".

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago also attended the dinner.

"Sister Carol stands in a long line of consecrated religious women who have led the way in providing quality health care that leaves no one behind," said Cardinal Cupich, who serves as the chancellor of Catholic Extension.

"To this day, she continues to show great leadership, advising the Holy See on health care issues and, most recently, cooperating with Pope Francis' initiatives to educate the world about Covid-19 vaccination."

Sister Keehan entered the contentious debate over the Affordable Care Act at a pivotal time, lending Catholic support to a bill that had been criticised by US bishops.

While supportive of expanding access to health care, Catholic bishops had come out against the bill because of concerns that it would expand access to abortion. Sister Keehan reviewed the legislation and said she did not share those concerns.

The Washington Post called Sister Keehan's sign-off of the legislation "a critical endorsement." Later, then-President Barack Obama credited her with helping provide the necessary support to help pass the bill.

"We would not have gotten the Affordable Care Act done if it weren't for her," Mr Obama said at a Catholic Health Association gathering in 2015.

Sources

• America Magazine
• National Catholic Reporter

Women religious and Catholic organisations who serve others every day are "our best hope for safe and fair distribution of vaccines.

"They are also the best tool for convincing people of the safety and importance of taking the vaccines," said Sr Carol Keehan, a nurse and Daughter of Charity.

The Church also has clear teachings about the need for more ethical ways to produce and test vaccines.

It has said that receiving vaccines is not participating or cooperating with the evil of abortion, she said during a recent online meeting sponsored by the Rome-based International Union of Superiors General.

The event was dedicated to how women religious can be leaders in bringing Gospel values to new models of the economy and health care. It was part of a series of meetings looking at ways sisters can empower other women and support those most affected and marginalised by the pandemic.

Sr Carol is the chair of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission's health task force.

She gave the more than 300 participants online an overview of the two main goals of the taskforce.

These are an equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments, and reducing the resistance to taking the vaccine.

People have been showing resistance to the vaccine for a number of reasons, she said, and so the taskforce created a "resource kit" for Church leaders and families, available in multiple languages on the commission's website.

"For years we have known that most vaccines are made and/or tested using stem cells grown in a laboratory that originated from a fetus aborted over 40 years ago. Almost all of us have had a vaccine made in this way," Sr Carol said.

"The Church has decades of theology and ethical teachings, asking that better ways of testing and producing vaccines should be a goal.

"But that taking these vaccines, or administering them to children, is not participating or co-operating with the evil of abortion," she said.

"In spite of this, a number of voices immediately started refusing to take the vaccines that had been made and or tested this way. Some of them were bishops in various dioceses, as well as priests and other teachers of the faith," she said.

Several Vatican dicasteries stepped in to clarify the Church's position on vaccines acceptability when no others are available.

And, she added, "Pope Francis has been very clear that it is a moral responsibility to take the vaccines to protect oneself, one's family and one's community from this deadly disease."

The church "cannot and must not remain on the sidelines" in building a better world, she said. This global problem must be faced "as a global family".

Sources

The Tablet

Catholic Universe

The Pontifical "Antonianum" University and four embassies to the Holy See sponsored the conference held on Tuesday.

It came after Pope Francis's invitation to seek a "more widespread and incisive female presence" in the Church.

According to Vatican Radio, the conference was a "no-holds barred conversation about the structures and mentalities which continue to impede that vision and limit the leadership roles of women in the Church today".

Religious and lay women and men asked questions about why there are not more female professors and pastoral trainers in seminaries and universities?

Other questions included: Why can't a women head pontifical councils and congregations, preach a retreat to the Roman Curia or be included in the Pope's council of closest advisors?

If there is a unique "feminine genius", as Pope John Paul liked to say, then why is it not being heard and included in the decision making process at both local and universal level, the Vatican Radio article continued.

Among the conference speakers was Sr Carol Keehan, CEO of the Catholic Healthcare Association of the United States.

She is best known in the secular world for her support of President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Sr Carol said the advancement of women is not about personal or feminist agendas.

Rather, it is about enabling the Church to put the Gospel message into practice, in those places where it is needed most, she said.

She said it is right to be more concerned about the woman who doesn't have clean water for her children than about "our little bit of opportunity".

But if having a woman in a position of influence meant the Church could better serve the woman without water and her family, then "heaven and earth should be moved to get that woman in that job".

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• Image: Vatican Radio