Jimmy Lai, at 78, faces what amounts to a death sentence because of his stubborn insistence on freedom of expression in Hong Kong. Political leaders and human rights activists around the world quickly condemned the 20-year sentence handed down by a Hong Kong court on Feb. 9.
Kevin Clarke
Kevin Clarke is America’s chief correspondent and the author of Oscar Romero: Love Must Win Out (Liturgical Press).
Posted inScripture Reflections
Jesus as a model for empathy
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Clarke
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Jesuits struggle with fallout from Trump policies on aid, immigration and deportation
Trump administration policies on humanitarian aid, immigration and mass deportation “have human afterlives, and they end up affecting communities; they end up affecting lives,” says Marco Gómez, S.J., the country director of Fe y Alegría in Panama. “These decisions, taken far away, are affecting concrete and real people.”
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
A Catholic guide to resisting the ICE crackdown
As the nation veers into policies on war-making and immigration that disturb many, average Catholics are stepping up into activist roles to voice their concerns and assist their neighbors.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
When Trump betrays our allies, America loses.
The nation’s withdrawal from multilateralism means the U.S. will cease being “in the room where it happens,” self-sabotaging a capacity to advance interests or resolve disputes in coordination with allied states.
Posted inDispatches
Cardinals urge Trump to step back from threats on Greenland and Venezuela
In a rare direct rebuke to a U.S. president, three American cardinals urged the Trump administration to step back from foreign policy strategies and goals that threaten world peace.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
How Vatican diplomats tried to resolve the Trump-Maduro standoff
While the rest of the Catholic world enjoyed its Christmas Eve, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, discussing a deal that would allow Venezuela’s President Nicholás Maduro to escape to a comfortable exile in Russia.
Posted inScripture Reflections
Don’t wait for a miraculous shortcut to holiness
A Reflection for Friday after Epiphany, by Kevin Clarke
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Trump administration strikes Venezuela—while threatening to deport Venezuelans
President Trump’s newfound concern for Venezuelans has not translated into a reversal of Trump administration decisions to terminate Biden-era temporary protected status for Venezuelans already in the United States.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Mass deportation, immigration and foreign aid chaos: the most-read stories in 2025
Immigration was perhaps the biggest story of the year for many of America’s editorial departments. It surely was for Dispatches, The Weekly Dispatch and in feature writing for America magazine.