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As the partial travel ban nears, agencies worry about refugees in limbo
Agencies and organizations that help refugees start new lives in the U.S. worry about the fate that awaits migrants in transit as well as those who will not be allowed into the country as the partial ban that the U.S. Supreme Court set in motion with its late June ruling goes into effect in early July.
Bishop who is immigrant praises newcomers to U.S. for ‘courageous spirit’
Portland Auxiliary Bishop Peter L. Smith, a native of South Africa, survived a laborious 13-year process to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He thinks the nation should remember its vaunted entrepreneurial spirit comes from immigrants.
This is your moment to evangelize, convocation delegates told
Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl stressed the sense of urgency of evangelizing and inviting others to Christ, stressing that Catholics have a perfect role model for this in Pope Francis, who has continually presented the church as inviting and open.
Convocation delegates urged to take Gospel to struggling people everywhere
Being Christian is more than accepting Jesus as savior, but requires the faithful to go to the peripheries of society where people are struggling materially and spiritually, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles.
Roundtable says church must ‘recruit, empower’ diverse lay leaders
Over 100 Catholic leaders attending the Leadership Roundtable's annual convening in Orlando said the church needs to go beyond "engaging laity" to "appointing, recruiting, promoting and empowering diverse lay leaders."
Christian, Muslim leaders highlight Lebanon as country of coexistence
Top Christian and Muslim leaders and Lebanese government representatives agreed that Lebanon should be highlighted as an example of peaceful coexistence, noting that "the deepening of democracy in Lebanon sends a message of hope to the Arabs and to the world."
Pope: Hunger caused by ‘indifference of many, selfishness of a few’
In a message to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization conference July 3, the pope said wars, terrorism and forced displacements are not "inevitable but rather the consequence of concrete decisions" that have led to the lack of food and adequate nutrition to the helpless.
Pope calls for respecting parents’ wishes to care for dying child
Expressing his closeness to the parents, Pope Francis said he was "praying for them, hoping that their desire to accompany and take care of their own baby until the end is not disregarded."
Pope names archbishop to succeed Cardinal Muller at doctrine office
The Vatican announced July 1 that the pope chose as prefect Spanish Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, 73, a Jesuit theologian who had been appointed secretary of the congregation in 2008 by then-Pope Benedict XVI.
Pope leads prayers for peace in Venezuela
Pope Francis led thousands of pilgrims in praying for Venezuela as the country continues to descend into chaos while government authorities press ahead with plans to change the country's constitution.