Conditions in Syria remain heartbreaking for anyone with a modicum of human sympathy, and the future looks dark, perhaps as dark as it has since Bashar Assad started murdering peaceful protesters. Over 7 million people have been displaced and perhaps 150,000 have been killed, according to National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Assad’s forces have been… Read More Syrian Refugees and the Costs of Non-Intervention
Big news from Rome today as the Vatican has announced the new slate of appointments to the Congregation of the Bishops. One name missing from the list is particularly noteworthy: Cardinal Raymond Burke, who is often seen as “representing a more aggressive line than the pope on the Western culture wars.” He was replaced by… Read More Pope Francis removes Cardinal Burke from Congregation of the Bishops
Everywhere you look people are preparing for Christmas. For the more than 2 billion Christians around the world, we are preparing for the birth of a child. Christmas then is the perfect occasion to draw our attention to a massive human rights issue: birth registration. According to UNICEF, only 1 in 3 children under 5 have… Read More A Birth Certificate is a Human Right
Check out these recent articles from around the web: Pope Francis and the argument for compassionate capitalism by Michael Gerson: “In ‘The Joy of the Gospel,’ Francis returns to the defining theme of his papacy: the priority of the person. Human beings have an essential value and nature. They can’t be reduced to economic objects… Read More Around the Web
Pope Francis: “Trafficking in human persons is a crime against humanity. We must join forces to free the victims and to stop this ever more aggressive crime, which threatens not only individual persons, but also the foundational values of society, as well as international security and justice, along with the economy, family structure and social… Read More Quote of the Day
Pope Francis: “If we see someone who needs help, do we stop? There is so much suffering and poverty, and a great need for good Samaritans.”
Another day, another fantastic message from Pope Francis. January 1 is the World Day of Peace, and each year, the Pope releases a (relatively) short document on a particular peace-related theme. For 2014, Pope Francis focuses on the idea of one human family in a message called “Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace.” He… Read More Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace Message: We Are One Human Family
