“Thousands of people, including many Christians, driven from their homes in a brutal manner; children dying of thirst and hunger in their flight; women kidnapped; people massacred; violence of every kind”—Pope Francis was clear in his condemnation of the actions of the militants of
Signs Of the Times
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Ferguson, Mo.: Calls for Peace After Street Unrest
As groups across the country held vigils to remember Michael Brown, a teenager whose death on Aug. 9 has sparked a wave of unrest in his Missouri hometown and raised questions about racial profiling and police militarization, religious leaders in the St. Louis area called upon “all people to p
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Dispatch From Los Angeles: Murrieta Revisited
The example of Christ looms large over the immigration debate here.
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Carbon Call
In a letter read during an Environmental Protection Agency hearing in Washington on July 30, the chairmen of two committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered their support for national standards to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants in an effort to limit climate chan
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News Briefs
On July 26, nine men were ordained at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, Tenn., the largest group ordained together in the diocese’s 177-year history. • Pope Francis celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola in Rome on July 31 by meeting the family of Paolo Dall’Oglio,
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C.R.S. Fights Fear and Ebola As Crisis Worsens in Sierra Leone
As people in Sierra Leone lose hope and worldwide fear grows over the worst Ebola outbreak on record, “Our situation is desperate,” says the Rev. Peter Konteh, executive director of Caritas in the Archdiocese of Freetown.On July 30 Father Konteh described the mood of the West African cou
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Mercy at the Border
Across the country a number of U.S. bishops have urged a merciful response to the crisis of unaccompanied minors at the U.S. border, and their parishioners have stepped up in response to the call. Dozens of parishioners in the small community of Oracle, Ariz., 30 miles north of Tucson, are one examp
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Searching for a Way Ahead As Israeli ‘Redeployment’ Begins
Israeli forces began withdrawing from parts of the Gaza Strip on Aug. 3, after a quick collapse of a humanitarian ceasefire on Aug. 1 and a ferocious bombardment of the border community of Rafah in its aftermath. As what he described as a redeployment of Israeli forces began, Prime Minister Benjamin
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Caritas Issues Appeal for Assistance As Gaza Conflict Intensifies
As an Israeli Defense Forces operation into the Gaza Strip entered its second day on July 18, the head of Caritas Jerusalem said he would launch an international appeal for assistance in Gaza and would not wait until the end of the Israel-Hamas hostilities, as he has done in the past. The Rev. Raed
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How Effective Is Annual Audit?
Jennifer M. Haselberger, former chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, accuses top church leaders of a “cavalier attitude” toward the safety of children.