via the Vatican: The coronavirus has caused death and suffering, affecting the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable. Please do not forget the most vulnerable. Do not forget those at the limit. Moreover, the pandemic has contributed to worsening existing social and environmental crises, as you, young people, are always reminding us. And you… Read More Pope Francis on the Pandemic and the ‘Virus of Individualism’

Bishop Robert McElroy writes: It is almost 50 years since the Supreme Court decision in the case Roe v. Wade. While progress in reducing abortions has occurred in some jurisdictions and the number of abortions nationwide has fallen, the United States still rejects the legal structures and policies that can bring meaningful protection to the… Read More Why It’s Wrong to Weaponize the Eucharist

The true economy, the one that creates work, is in crisis. How many people are now unemployed! — But the financial markets have never been as inflated as they are now. How far away is the world of high finance from the lives of ordinary people! If finance is unregulated, it becomes pure speculation driven… Read More Pope Francis’ Prayer Intentions for May 2021: A More Just, Inclusive, and Sustainable Economy

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