The staff and volunteers of Caritas Ukraine accept a double duty—agents of humanitarian aid but also, with their families, victims and targets of conflict themselves.

A Reflection for the Memorial of Saint Scholastica, by Kevin Clarke

“These are strong, courageous people of hope,” Daniel Corrou, S.J., the director of Jesuit Refugee Service/Middle East and North Africa, said. But even hope has its limits.

Bishop Álvarez briefly materialized in Managua for a pre-trial hearing, accused of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity and propagation of false news.” A frequent government critic, Bishop Álvarez had strongly objected to the closing of Catholic radio and television stations last year.

A reflection for the Baptism of the Lord, by Kevin Clarke

According to the Death Penalty Information Center: “Seven of the 20 execution attempts were visibly problematic—an astonishing 37 percent—as a result of executioner incompetence, failures to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves.”

Catholic Charities USA officials pushed back strongly against allegations from Republican House of Representatives members that its humanitarian responses to the U.S. border crisis were potentially criminal acts.

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent, by Kevin Clarke

People who hope to escape Haiti’s cholera outbreak and life-threatening insecurity cannot wait for a more welcome climate to emerge in the United States.

The election Archbishop Timothy Broglio to lead the conference suggested to Bishop Stowe that “we’re definitely not going to be going in the direction of Pope Francis any more than we have, and that’s unfortunate.”