In 2006, Puerto Rico’s economy entered a recession. A key factor was the United States federal government phased out a provision of the Puerto Rican tax code that gave U.S. corporations in Puerto Rico tax exemptions. The move prompted companies to move out of Puerto Rico and cost thousands of Puerto Ricans their jobs.
Author: John Lavenburg
Puerto Rico Tries to Recover and Rebuild After Years of Disasters, Financial Hardship
Father Enrique Camacho has lived with his parents in San Juan, Puerto Rico, since 2017. He moved there after Hurricane Maria destroyed the parish house where he lived. And like much of the island, it still hasn’t been rebuilt. Hurricane Maria came two weeks after Hurricane Irma devastated much of Puerto Rico.
Papal Visit to ‘Shine a Light’ on Plight of Christian Iraqis, U.S. Religious Freedom Commissioner Says
Ever since Iraq’s liberation from the Islamic State group in 2017, Nadine Maenza has noticed the world continues to pay less and less attention to the plight of the country’s Christians and other religious minorities.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Raises Ethical Concerns
Several Catholic ethicists are urging people to steer clear of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if possible, but at the same time affirm it is morally acceptable to receive it if the alternatives are not an option.
Panelists Urge Respect for Human Dignity as Nation Tackles Poverty
Lorena Melgarejo remembers a time after her husband died that she couldn’t always be there for her three-year-old child because she couldn’t lose her income.
Black Religious Orders Broke Racial Barriers in America
When it comes to the earliest orders of Black Catholic religious sisters in the United States, Shannen Dee Williams wants people to recognize something she considers overlooked — the perseverance, struggle, and commitment to God they put forth to make religious life possible for black women and girls.
U.S. Bishops Highlight Religious Liberty Concerns With Equality Act
Ahead of a House of Representatives vote this week, the U.S. bishop’s conference denounced the Equality Act as a bill that “discriminates against people of faith,” and something that “can be construed to include an abortion mandate.”
As Storm Paralyzes Much of Texas, Catholic Charities Shift Into Overdrive
For almost a week, amid an historic winter storm that’s left much of Texas paralyzed and shut down, Father Pat O’Brien and others at St. Pius X Catholic Church in San Antonio have operated under a simple mantra: “Whatever the need is, we will be open.”
Catholic Leaders Call on Biden to Rescue Reeling Puerto Rico
There have been enough earthquakes in Puerto Rico over the past year and a half that the sensation has stuck with Archbishop Roberto González Nieves of San Juan. Sometimes, González said, he thinks the earth is shaking even when it’s not.
Amid Record Snow, Texas Scrambles to Reconfigure Ash Wednesday
Parishes across the state of Texas have canceled Ash Wednesday Masses amid a winter storm that’s left over three million people without power and brought record low temperatures all week.
