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

Christopher White reports: Conservative Catholic philanthropists and pro-life leaders are key players behind efforts to limit voter access in a number of states, where such suppression could obstruct the right to vote for economically marginalized populations and racial minorities for years to come…. In March, Georgia’s legislature — a state with a long history of… Read More The Conservative and “Pro-Life” Catholic Leaders Who Are Backing Voter Suppression

Arwa Damon writes: Long gone is the illusion that any reporting out of Syria will change the realities on the ground. That was painfully eliminated early on. It ripped many of us journalists to shreds, left us flailing, wondering what more we could have done, or what we should have done better. It gutted us… Read More 10 Years of Murder, Destruction, and Brutal Repression in Syria

via the Common Good Hour: We…invite Dr. Marcus Mescher, author of The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity, to deepen our understanding of encounter and to share an ethical framework for advancing the Common Good through solidarity. Dr. Mescher shares how nonprofits play a critical role in bringing people together… Read More Encounter, Solidarity, and the Common Good with Marcus Mescher

via Georgetown: Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) sets out the spirit and principle of solidarity—our ineradicable human bonds to one another—as the basis for Catholic social teaching and the underpinning of truly humane economics, politics, and culture. Francis’ insights are powerfully consonant with the insights of a number of… Read More Solidarity and Fratelli Tutti