Shifting public perceptions on immigration—often based on political rhetoric and a misunderstanding of the facts on the ground—may help explain why there has been little, if any, movement on immigration reform in Congress.
International
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Border apprehensions are at record highs—but they include many repeat offenders
Border Patrol officials said that the large number of expulsions during the pandemic had contributed to a higher-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with five popes
While most people, when asked to describe the relationship between the papacy and the British monarchy, would likely think of the Henry VIII affair, in reality the relationship between the two heads-of-state-slash-heads-of-churches is quite cordial.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Before her murder by insurgents, Italian nun called niece for prayers
“I asked her, ‘Auntie, you’re not leaving?’ and, after a moment of silence, she answered ‘I don’t know, I want to wait,” Comboni Sister Gabriella Bottani said of her aunt, Comboni Sister Maria De Coppi.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Violence against women is a plague in South Africa
Advocates for the protection of women charge that rape is systemic and endemic in South Africa. Police statistics confirm this: There are about 115 rapes per day, a level that is among the highest in the world.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Chile’s constitution vote raises difficult questions for Catholics about equality and abortion
Chileans will get to vote on Sunday as to whether or not to adopt a new constitution. Chilean Catholics face a document that supports some Catholic ideas of equality and community yet also codifies abortion and euthanasia.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
83-year-old American nun freed after five months of captivity in Burkina Faso
Marianite Sister Ann Lacour said that fellow Sister Suellen Tennyson, who was kidnapped from the convent of her educational and medical mission in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, is now safe and on American soil.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholic Relief Services C.E.O. on the alarming signs of our times: hunger, drought and war
Sean Callahan, president and C.E.O. of Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, returned last month from tours and consultations with C.R.S. partners in Ukraine, Ghana and Ethiopia.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In South Africa’s synodal process, lay enthusiasm is often met with gatekeeping from priests
Bruce Botha, S.J., said one notable achievement of the synodal process was that many people who experienced themselves on the margins of the church felt that they were heard.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘Listen to the cry of the people of Haiti.’ Religious orders call for international intervention in Haiti
A coalition of 20 religious orders has sent an open letter to the U.N. requesting direct intervention against violent gangs in Haiti.