About 40 million people are now trapped by forced labor and human trafficking. John McCarthy explains how the church in Australia is “slavery-proofing” its procurement practices and supply chains.
Social Justice
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
What a 19th-century Catholic addict and poet can tell us about the modern-day opioid crisis
The current opioid crisis has strong parallels to drug addiction in Victorian England, writes Nathan Beacom, and the struggles of the Catholic poet Francis Thompson.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Plowshares activists are on trial for anti-nuclear protest. Theologians say the Gospel’s on their side.
On April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., seven Plowshares activists illegally entered the naval submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga., staining the property with their blood and placing crime scene tape around the base. Now they are facing up to 25 years in prison.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Africa’s bishops should set up anti-trafficking offices, says coalition
All bishops’ conferences and dioceses in Africa should create an office or point person to collaborate with judges, immigration departments and law enforcement to beef up efforts against human trafficking, said delegates to a regional conference.
Posted inGoodNews, Politics & Society
How one Catholic group is fighting for justice in Nigeria’s troubled prison system
For nearly two decades, Nigeria has been struggling to reform its congested prison system. Courts grapple with huge backlogs of cases, compounding delays in the delivery of justice and contributing to prison overcrowding.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The backlash against globalization
In his new book, Ian Bremmer predicts that soon Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Egypt, China and many others will all have their own Marie Le Pens and Steve Bannons.
Posted inFaith, News
Trial of the Kings Bay Plowshares set for late October
The charges stemmed from an April 2018 protest at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, one of two home ports for the U.S. Navy’s fleet of Trident submarines.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Sister Helen Prejean’s life on death row
Lest the reader assume that Sister Prejean’s work against the death penalty, is the sum total of her story, she spends the final pages of her afterword calling out the places where she sees continued injustices, particularly in the treatment of women and L.G.B.T. people in the church.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Amazon’s tax breaks can promote the common good
The collapse of a tax incentive deal to bring Amazon jobs to New York was nothing to celebrate, writes Joseph J. Dunn. A “we don’t negotiate” policy is foolish for communities that need jobs.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Can social justice activism go too far?
Over the course of the mid-to-late 20th century, notions of social justice went very, very wrong.