Criminals “are not dangerous people. They are only people who are not sufficiently loved.”
Criminal Justice
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Jesuit: Priests need better guidelines for hearing confession from sex abuse victims—and abusers
The Catholic Church must do a better job instructing priests on what to do if a victim recounts his or her abuse in the confessional and in the unlikely case that an abuser confesses, said Hans Zollner, S.J.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Archbishop Coakley of Oklahoma City: A culture of life means an end to the death penalty
We must ask ourselves whether executing people on death row is truly a matter of public safety or merely a state-sanctioned tool for exacting the public’s demand for revenge.
Posted inFaith and Reason, Politics & Society
Pope Francis has shown the U.S. a new path for ending the death penalty—for good.
Last year, Pope Francis said, “There can be no stepping back” from the church’s opposition to the death penalty. It is time to put this teaching into action and stop executions in the United States for good.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
After 100 attacks on Catholic sites since 2020, bishops say ‘acts of hate’ must stop
The Oct. 10 vandalization of Denver’s cathedral basilica brought to 100 the number of incidents of arson, vandalism and other destruction that have taken place at Catholic sites across the United States since May 2020.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
El Salvador’s death squads have new targets but continue their bloody work
El Salvador’s contemporary death squads do not engage in political liquidation. Their targets have largely been criminal suspects or innocent bystanders caught up in the violence.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis calls for clemency for death row inmate Ernest Johnson
Pope Francis has joined the chorus of people calling on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to grant clemency to a death row inmate who is set to be executed for killing three people during a 1994 convenience store robbery.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Father Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries transformed by $20-million gift from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
This is the first time Homeboy Industries has received this level of funding, enabling a new level of capacity to serve people who have been in prison and involved in gangs.
Posted inFaith, News
Rwandan immigrant turns himself in for killing French priest
A Rwandan immigrant awaiting trial for the arson of the cathedral in Nantes turned himself into police for killing the French provincial of the Montfort Missionaries.
Posted inFaith, News
Ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teen
Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy during a wedding reception in the 1970s, court records show.