human dignity

ishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa was convicted and sentenced by a Nicaraguan court to 26 years in prison Feb. 10 — barely a day after the outspoken prelate defied President Daniel Ortega by refusing to go into exile.

“The church supports and blesses efforts to change the structures of injustice and sets down but one condition: that social, economic and political change truly benefit the poor,” the pope said, quoting St. Oscar Romero.

With the start of the 2023 Minnesota legislative session Jan. 3, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota, is putting families at the top of its advocacy strategy for the year.

Subtitled “Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors: A Starting Point and Call to Action,” the document lists 24 topics — from abortion to water — that should be considered when planning an investment strategy that generates the funds necessary to continue the church’s mission but does so in the most ethical way possible.

According to Vatican News, Cardinal Tagle read the papal decree to the assembly and, while acknowledging the news could upset or confuse some people, he said they should be reassured knowing that it came after “a careful and independent study of the working environment of the secretariat and the governance exercised by the people and bodies in charge.”

In a 24-hour period, all four death penalty cases had last-minute appeals to the Supreme Court that were denied.

A vision to form a brotherhood of permanent deacons for pro-life ministry — the first of its kind — became a reality this fall with the approval of the clerical association Deacons of Hope.

A key concern, he said, is how climate change is impacting people who fish for a living as well as those who staff large ships.