John Gehring writes: Religious leaders from diverse faith traditions are speaking out and organizing against a surge of voter suppression in states across the country. Pastors, rabbis, and imams have lobbied lawmakers, written op-eds, and pressured corporations in response to laws that create barriers to the ballot box and disproportionately impact Black voters. When Georgia… Read More The US Bishops are Too Quiet on Voting Rights—Ignoring Catholic Social Teaching

Tish Harrison Warren writes: In a recent New York Times op-ed, the current head of Planned Parenthood, Alexis McGill Johnson, lays bare their founder’s involvement with white supremacist groups, eugenics, and the medical exploitation of Puerto Rican women. She calls for a “reckoning” with Margaret Sanger’s sins, admitting that Sanger “devalued and dehumanized people of… Read More A Whole Life Reaction to the Planned Parenthood Apology

Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ writes: In April 2021, Pope Francis’s universal intention is for fundamental rights. “We pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis,” he says. Since Pope John XXIII in the 1960s, human rights have been of central importance… Read More How the Catholic Church Understands Human Rights

Habiba Sarabi, Fawzia Koofi and Sharifa Zurmati write: After two decades of war, this can be a historic year of peace in Afghanistan. But, as Afghan negotiators, we are duty-bound to caution that peace must not come at the cost of our humanity. And it must not come at the cost of the rights of… Read More President Biden: Don’t Abandon the Women and Girls of Afghanistan

Defending fundamental human rights demands courage and determination. I’m referring to actively combating poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, and the denial of social and labor rights. Often, in practice, fundamental human rights are not equal for all. There are first-, second-, and third-class people, and those who are disposable. No. They… Read More Pope Francis’ Prayer Intentions for April 2021: People Who Fight for Fundamental Human Rights