Dark days indeed appear to be looming ahead for Lebanon. Forces far beyond the control of its already embattled citizens—plagued by years of economic and political instability—are dictating their nation’s future.
The Weekly Dispatch
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
U.K. Catholics denounce anti-migrant violence following deadly attack on Taylor Swift-themed dance class
Rioting was sparked by a knife attack at a dance studio in Southport on July 29. Three children were killed and other children and adults injured and seriously wounded.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Maduro’s third term in Venezuela could mean more migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.
Hopes for political change in Venezuela were dashed just hours after polls closed when the National Electoral Council declared that Nicholás Maduro had been elected to a third term as president.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Ukraine and the troubling future of A.I. warfare
Reports are already surfacing of drones launched into Russia that are relying on artificial, not human, intelligence in decisions to evade defensive countermeasures, pick targets and finally conclude a strike.
Posted inFaith, The Weekly Dispatch
After 35 years, a final settlement reached in the Mount Cashel Orphanage sex abuse cases
A court-empowered third-party insolvency monitor has ordered the Archdiocese of St. John’s to pay over 104 million Canadian dollars (about $76 million) to 292 survivors of Mount Cashel who were victimized behind its walls.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
The Supreme Court opened the door to criminalizing homelessness. Catholic bishops say there are better solutions.
“Policies that criminalize homelessness are a direct contradiction of our call to shelter those experiencing homelessness and care for those in need,” said Archbishop Borys Gudziak said.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Immigration and declining fertility are shaping elections in Europe and the U.S.
Both the United States and the European Union are experiencing a period when double-digit percentages of foreign-born people have been able to achieve legal residency.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Mexico’s first woman president will face border, crime and climate challenges
López Obrador says he plans to go quietly into political retirement, but AMLO playing Benedict to Claudia Sheinbaum’s Francis will be just one of the incoming Mexican president’s major challenges.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
What Catholic anti-hunger advocates have to say about the 2024 Farm Bill
The current Farm Bill, at $1.5 trillion, represents the largest spending package in U.S. agricultural policy history; 80 percent of the spending is directed to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
With arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, the I.C.C. breaks new ground and draws criticism
While Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement has been perceived as a symbolic blow that deepens Israel’s international isolation because of its conduct of the war in Gaza.