Hunger and panic are spreading among people unable to work because of restrictions aimed at containing the spread of Ebola, say church workers in West Africa. In Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, church groups “are trying to get food and distribute it to families...but movement is heavily res

Catholic aid organizations are hopeful that the most recent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas will hold as they begin to assess the needs in Gaza after 50 days of war. “This is a window of opportunity,” said Sami El-Yousef, Catholic Near East Welfare Association’s regional direct

Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs of the Middle East denounced attacks on Christians and called upon the international community to work to eradicate terrorist groups. The patriarchs met on Aug. 27 at the Maronite Catholic patriarchate at Bkerke, north of Beirut, for a special summit to address the c

Uganda’s gay rights supporters caught a glimpse of hope on Aug. 1 when the country’s constitutional court ruled that the December 2013 parliamentary vote to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was illegal because of the below-quorum attendance. The new law, hailed by the Ugandan president a

“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

Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J., a theology professor at Fordham University, was given the top award of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ on Aug. 15 during its national assembly in Nashville, Tenn. During her acceptance speech, she strongly criticized the U.S. bishops for their formal cr

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

The death of Miguel Pajares, O.H., on Aug. 12 brought to six the number of caregivers at a Catholic-run hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, who died of Ebola in August. • An official with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association said humanitarian agencies are “trying to pick up the pieces&rd

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,

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