“The reappearance of some populist and nationalist impulses today is progressively weakening the multilateral system,” Pope Francis said, “resulting in a general lack of trust, a crisis of credibility in international political life and a gradual marginalization of the most vulnerable members of the family of nations.”
Humanitarian Aid
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Infographic: An alarming forecast for a world in need in 2019
Ten percent of the world’s people are still living in extreme poverty, and this year nearly 132 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection, mostly because of the effects of armed conflict.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Aid may finally reach Nineveh Christians, but time is running out
The Christian community in Iraq has been decimated by decades of conflict, persecution and disorder, culminating in the unbelievable savagery of ISIS. After two millennia in Iraq, the Christian population has reduced to a vanishing point, raising concerns around the world about the viability of this ancient community.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Report: Foreign fighters led IS atrocities against Yazidis
Around half of the estimated 6,800 Yazidis taken captive are still missing. Women and girls from the minority who escaped described an organized system of slavery overseen by high-ranking foreign fighters.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Folks in rural part of Panhandle ask: Where’s the help?
“It’s a struggle. You feel frustrated because our local government seems to care more about the tourism industry than the hard-working people.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Where is our regard for the sanctity of life in Yemen?
After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, we must reconsider our relationship with Saudi Arabia—and can no longer turn our eyes from our complicity in the devastation of Yemen.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The migrant caravan through the eyes of Catholic social teaching
Many of the migrants in the caravan are fleeing Central America’s “Northern Triangle”—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. These countries are beset by “the world’s highest murder rates, deaths linked to drug trafficking and organized crime and endemic poverty.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Venezuelans flee crisis at home but face rising tensions in Brazil
About 5,000 people leave Venezuela every day. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, at least 1.9 million Venezuelan citizens have left the country since 2015, fleeing from the economic and political crisis that the country is experiencing under President Nicolás Maduro.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Florida panhandle a local church steps up after Hurricane Michael
Much like New Orleans’ Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina, the low-income neighborhoods east of Panama City, where St. Dominic is located, were especially hard-hit by the storm. Now residents here are desperate for help.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Chaldean cardinal says promised U.S. aid for Iraq hasn’t come
He praised Hungary by contrast, saying it had provided $5 million in direct assistance to repair Christian homes, schools and churches in Iraq and Syria.