The Tokyo 2020 iteration of the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) has 29 athletes, compared to 10 athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. They hail from 11 countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela.
Author: John Lavenburg
Be Like Grandparents and Focus on Needs Of Others, DC Prelate Says
On the very first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Cardinal Wilton Gregory stressed the wisdom that the elderly and grandparents carry with them each day, and encouraged all Catholics to “become more observant of their needs.
Virtual Exhibit Highlights Tenacity of Armenian Christian Faith
Less than a month after two missiles significantly damaged the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the Armenian town of Shusha last October, Hovik Hovsepyan and Mariam Sargsyan stood at the cathedral’s altar and became married amid the rubble.
Summit Aims to Build ‘Global Movement’ for Religious Freedom
Looking back on the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit, co-chair Sam Brownback believes it accomplished the goal of building relationships between global religious leaders and laying a foundation for what he hopes will be a “global movement.”
Bishops, Advocates Call Immigration Ruling a ‘Wake-Up Call’ for Congress
Before Daniela Alulema became a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient in 2012, she remembers the hardships and uncertainty she experienced as a completely undocumented college student.
COVID Made Bad Situation For Immigrants Worse, Catholic Survey Finds
One of the main findings of the survey was that the demand for Catholic institution’s services from the immigrant community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased. And those Catholic institutions responded with a number of new services, the survey found. These included: financial assistance, COVID-19 testing, education, contact tracing, and quarantine services, mental health services, grief support and assistance with funeral expenses, and delivery of food and sanitation supplies for infected and other homebound persons.
Secular Medicine is Undermining Human Equality, Author Says
In 2013, an overlooked blood loss after routine surgery for sleep apnea sent thirteen-year-old Jahi McMath into cardiac arrest, and, two days, later tests showed she was brain dead. The state of California declared McMath dead.
Pro-Immigrant ‘Ready To Stay’ Campaign Has Faith Groups as Backbone
Cirenio Cervantes, who arrived in the United States at the age of 7 with his parents from Mexico, became a Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipient in 2012, but he still remembers when his family would travel state to state looking for the next vegetable to pick.
Clergy Pray For Reconciliation In Cuba: They’re ‘Starving for Freedom’
When Bishop Octavio Cisneros considers the situation in his native Cuba six decades after he fled the communist nation, he’s sad to see an unimproved situation and people living in dire conditions that are getting worse.
A Week After Building Collapse, Miami Clergy Still Comforting Families
Father Juan Sosa spent time with the relative of a missing family from the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium in Surfside, Florida. She was in tears. The family was supposed to be celebrating one of the children’s birthdays.
