Signs Of the Times

Democracy and market economies go hand in hand but are risky and can be abused if they do not sustain human dignity and support the common good, according to a Vatican economic official. Joseph F. X. Zahra, a Maltese economist who is deputy coordinator of the Vatican Council for the Economy, spoke a

The U.S. bishops’ conference announced on Feb. 8 that it is launching a new National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue to be headed by Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago. • Just days before Pope Francis was scheduled to visit a prison in Ciudad Juárez, a brutal fight between rival factions on Feb

Members of a papal commission set up to advise Pope Francis on the protection of children “decided” on Feb. 6 that one of its members, Peter Saunders, should “take a leave of absence.” Saunders has been frequently quoted by the press in criticism of specific church decisions

The surprise announcement from Rome of the upcoming meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Pope Francis “shows definitively Francis’ vocation as a pontiff, a bridge-builder,” Kevin Ahern, an assistant professor of religious studies at Manhattan College said on Feb. 5.&ldquo

Esteban Alanis, 23, once ran with a local gang known as Los Parqueros, which would accost people for their cash and cellphones in a working-class neighborhood of southeast Ciudad Juárez. He called the crimes “easy money,” while gang activities offered a sense of belonging and an adolesc

Haiti’s Catholic bishops urged a negotiated solution to the country’s political crisis as President Michel Martelly’s term ended on Feb. 7 and elections to find a successor were indefinitely delayed. • Applicants have until May 14 to vie for a $22,000 prize in a pontifical con

Bill O’Keefe, Catholic Relief Services’ vice president for government relations and advocacy, in December toured C.R.S. and Caritas Internationalis efforts to respond to the continuing refugee crisis in Europe in Greece, Serbia and Macedonia. O’Keefe was astonished by the sight of

The first class of 60 students from the Archdiocese of Atlanta has completed a three-year formation program in Spanish through the University of Dallas, earning a pastoral theology certificate. In a recent graduation ceremony at Holy Spirit Church, Auxiliary Bishop Luis R. Zarama of Atlanta sent for