Several watchdog groups say that religious freedom around the world is taking a beating, and the Catholic pastoral group Aid to the Church in Need says the persecution of Christians is “today worse than at any time in history.”

Forty million worldwide are believed to be caught in a trap of forced labor, including many millions who work in manufacturing, assembly, agriculture and food services.

“The huge thing,” she said, is the recognition by the church of “the inviolable dignity even of guilty people who have done terrible crimes.”

“People decided, ‘I just don’t like the Eighth; it’s just too strict even if I have nervousness about the laws that might replace it.’

The C.D.C. reports a 25 percent spike between 1999 and 2016 in the frequency of suicide across the country.

Two Notre Dame lawyers describe Kennedy as a jurist who consistently ruled in favor of personal liberty and free speech.

A record 68.5 million people had been driven from their homes across the world at the end of 2017. That total was 2.9 million more than at the end of 2016.

U.S. bishops may be prepared for a stronger pushback against Trump administration policies that are being criticized as cruel and outside the U.S. tradition on the welcoming of immigrants and the treatment of people seeking protection from harm.

A decision to deny appeals for asylum in the United States based on claims of domestic abuse or gang violence has been deplored by Catholic leaders from coast to coast.

Many could be deported next week without having had the opportunity to arrange custody for their children, dispose of their property or arrange their finances in Ohio.