Opinion

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – In Scotland, the Catholic bishops have welcomed the announcement that communal worship can restart on July 15. All places of worship were closed in the United Kingdom on March 23 due the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Churches in Scotland were opened for private prayer on June 22; however, public worship remained banned even after being allowed in ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has backed an anti-slavery campaign launched by Crimestoppers UK. The #SlaveryonYourDoorstep campaign seeks to get anonymous information from the public to help potential victims as the numbers of people suffering under slave like conditions continues to rise in the country. “The pandemic has affected vulnerable people disproportionally,” Nichols said. “This has ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Catholic college and university leaders have joined the nation’s higher education community in condemning a new policy announced by the Trump administration that would prevent international students from remaining in or coming to the United States if their colleges use a completely online format in the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary final ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A prohibition by some U.S. Navy commands against active service members participating in off-base indoor religious services over coronavirus fears has now been revised, allowing attendance at places of worship where congregants can maintain social distance and wear face coverings. But when the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services first learned of it, he ... read more

The luscious fruits of the Amazon jungle still grow, undeterred by the raging pandemic. But many Colombian farmers and Indigenous communities have been left without a way to sell their harvests, and without the wherewithal to buy the staples of daily life. Seeing this need, two siblings launched The Harvest: Amazonian Barter. Now dozens of people line up every Friday ... read more

NEWARK, New Jersey — Federal death-row inmate Dustin Lee Honken was convicted of “heinous” crimes but killing him “will do nothing to restore justice or heal those still burdened by these crimes,” Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said in a July 9 letter to President Donald Trump. “Instead, his execution will reduce the government of the United States to the level ... read more

NEW YORK — When the coronavirus pandemic caused a broad economic downturn and Depression-era unemployment rates, Washington responded with trillions of dollars in federal relief. One centerpiece was the $659 billion Paycheck Protection Program. Congress created the program to help smaller businesses and nonprofit groups — generally those with fewer than 500 employees — keep their workers on the payroll. ... read more

NEW YORK — The U.S. Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups. The church’s haul may have reached — or even exceeded — $3.5 billion, ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party, including a member of the ruling Politburo, for alleged human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities that China has detained in the western part of the country. The decision to bar these senior officials from entering the U.S. is the ... read more

Catholic officials in Las Vegas say they have temporarily closed a church where a priest conducted Mass this week before learning he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Diocese for Las Vegas said in a news release Thursday that Holy Family Catholic Church would be cleaned and sanitized and that it would be closed until further notice. Church officials said ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Ireland’s leading Catholic development aid agency is urging the Irish and UK governments to help the developing world rebuild their societies and economies in a “just and sustainable way.” Trócaire, the international development agency of the Irish bishops, launched its “Build Back Better” campaign on Wednesday with a call for international commitments from both governments on ... read more

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – As the world concentrates on the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of Caritas Internationalis says the crisis in Africa’s Sahel region is being forgotten. The region is the semi-arid area between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and includes countries such as Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is 60 percent Muslim, with Christians making up about a ... read more

ROME – Asked whether China pressured Pope Francis to omit an appeal for Hong Kong from his Sunday Angelus address, Chinese Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian denied the charges. “I am not aware of the situation, but we hope and believe that people of vision who truly care about Hong Kong will choose to act in ways beneficial to Hong Kong’s ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Britain marked the one-year anniversary of the publication of groundbreaking report on the persecution of Christians by announcing the first wave of designations under the UK’s new sanctions regime for those involved in religious persecution. The UK Foreign Office commissioned an independent inquiry into the persecution of Christians led by the Anglican Bishop of Truro, Philip ... read more

MEXICO CITY — A former Salvadoran army officer has testified that the “high command” gave orders to eliminate Jesuits priests during the country’s civil war. He also said the Central American country’s president would have known of the crimes to be committed and did not intervene. The testimony was offered at the trial of Inocente Orlando Montano, a former colonel ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – In Scotland, the Catholic bishops have welcomed the announcement that communal worship can restart on July 15. All places of worship were closed in the United Kingdom on March 23 due the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Churches in Scotland were opened for private prayer on June 22; however, public worship remained banned even after being allowed in ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has backed an anti-slavery campaign launched by Crimestoppers UK. The #SlaveryonYourDoorstep campaign seeks to get anonymous information from the public to help potential victims as the numbers of people suffering under slave like conditions continues to rise in the country. “The pandemic has affected vulnerable people disproportionally,” Nichols said. “This has ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Catholic college and university leaders have joined the nation’s higher education community in condemning a new policy announced by the Trump administration that would prevent international students from remaining in or coming to the United States if their colleges use a completely online format in the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary final ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A prohibition by some U.S. Navy commands against active service members participating in off-base indoor religious services over coronavirus fears has now been revised, allowing attendance at places of worship where congregants can maintain social distance and wear face coverings. But when the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services first learned of it, he ... read more

The luscious fruits of the Amazon jungle still grow, undeterred by the raging pandemic. But many Colombian farmers and Indigenous communities have been left without a way to sell their harvests, and without the wherewithal to buy the staples of daily life. Seeing this need, two siblings launched The Harvest: Amazonian Barter. Now dozens of people line up every Friday ... read more

NEWARK, New Jersey — Federal death-row inmate Dustin Lee Honken was convicted of “heinous” crimes but killing him “will do nothing to restore justice or heal those still burdened by these crimes,” Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said in a July 9 letter to President Donald Trump. “Instead, his execution will reduce the government of the United States to the level ... read more

NEW YORK — When the coronavirus pandemic caused a broad economic downturn and Depression-era unemployment rates, Washington responded with trillions of dollars in federal relief. One centerpiece was the $659 billion Paycheck Protection Program. Congress created the program to help smaller businesses and nonprofit groups — generally those with fewer than 500 employees — keep their workers on the payroll. ... read more

NEW YORK — The U.S. Catholic Church used a special and unprecedented exemption from federal rules to amass at least $1.4 billion in taxpayer-backed coronavirus aid, with many millions going to dioceses that have paid huge settlements or sought bankruptcy protection because of clergy sexual abuse cover-ups. The church’s haul may have reached — or even exceeded — $3.5 billion, ... read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party, including a member of the ruling Politburo, for alleged human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities that China has detained in the western part of the country. The decision to bar these senior officials from entering the U.S. is the ... read more

Catholic officials in Las Vegas say they have temporarily closed a church where a priest conducted Mass this week before learning he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Diocese for Las Vegas said in a news release Thursday that Holy Family Catholic Church would be cleaned and sanitized and that it would be closed until further notice. Church officials said ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Ireland’s leading Catholic development aid agency is urging the Irish and UK governments to help the developing world rebuild their societies and economies in a “just and sustainable way.” Trócaire, the international development agency of the Irish bishops, launched its “Build Back Better” campaign on Wednesday with a call for international commitments from both governments on ... read more

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – As the world concentrates on the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of Caritas Internationalis says the crisis in Africa’s Sahel region is being forgotten. The region is the semi-arid area between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and includes countries such as Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is 60 percent Muslim, with Christians making up about a ... read more

ROME – Asked whether China pressured Pope Francis to omit an appeal for Hong Kong from his Sunday Angelus address, Chinese Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian denied the charges. “I am not aware of the situation, but we hope and believe that people of vision who truly care about Hong Kong will choose to act in ways beneficial to Hong Kong’s ... read more

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – Britain marked the one-year anniversary of the publication of groundbreaking report on the persecution of Christians by announcing the first wave of designations under the UK’s new sanctions regime for those involved in religious persecution. The UK Foreign Office commissioned an independent inquiry into the persecution of Christians led by the Anglican Bishop of Truro, Philip ... read more

MEXICO CITY — A former Salvadoran army officer has testified that the “high command” gave orders to eliminate Jesuits priests during the country’s civil war. He also said the Central American country’s president would have known of the crimes to be committed and did not intervene. The testimony was offered at the trial of Inocente Orlando Montano, a former colonel ... read more