In focus: Assistance for pregnancy help centers, hate crimes up in Canada, possible eucharistic miracle in Hartford
Nation/World news briefs: April 3, 2023
Pope says be close to those ‘abandoned’ like Christ: unborn, migrants
The unborn, migrants, the elderly and the disabled are “living icons” of Jesus that call Christians to draw close to those who feel abandoned just as Christ did on the cross, Pope Francis said.
Agriculture unions, with church’s support, fight uphill battle for farmworkers’ rights, dignity
An estimated 2.9 million seasonal, migrant, and resident laborers annually stream to dusty fields across the country to pick America’s produce.
Remembering deadly shipwreck, pope prays to end human trafficking
After praying the Angelus with some 25,000 visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square March 5, the pope prayed for the victims of a shipwreck off the coast of Cutro in Italy’s southern province of Crotone, which killed at least 70 people Feb. 26.
Catholic immigration advocates condemn proposed Biden border rule
The Biden administration Feb. 21 proposed its most restrictive border control measure to date, announcing it plans to issue a temporary rule blocking asylum-seekers who cross the border without authorization or who do not first apply for protections in other nations before coming to the United States
Social ministry ‘fundamentally a work of faith,’ cardinal says
The Mass celebrated by Cardinal Wilton Gregory came on the final day of the Jan. 28-31 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering. The meeting addressed workers’ rights, migrants and refugees, housing inequities, hunger and food insecurity, poverty, climate change, systemic racism, gun violence, restorative justice, abortion, domestic violence, and “pro-woman and pro-family policies.”
Catholic organizations applaud, express concerns about new private sponsorship program for refugees
The Welcome Corps allows applications from private groups formed by five or more people to sponsor refugees for their first 90 days in the U.S.
Pandemic-era border policy allowed to stay in place for now
In its response, the administration asked the Supreme Court to reject the states’ bid to keep the border restriction in place while legal challenges played out.