On Nov. 18, CCBQ hosted its ninth annual turkey drive, which received about 700 more birds than last year. CCBQ President and CEO Msgr. Alfred LoPinto said the combination of the organization’s renovated resource center and a new distribution system that has parishes pick up and distribute the turkeys and chickens themselves are welcome changes to this year’s drive.
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, in a divided ruling mid-March, said that because the work that a state Catholic Charities’ agency does is not primarily religious, it does not qualify for a religious exemption to the state’s unemployment tax.
Nearly a year has passed since a rare “hundred year flood” devastated the Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky, an area known as “the mountains” that was already stricken by extreme poverty and unemployment.
Normally an art teacher at a nearby community center, Elizabeth Reyes was surrounded by piles of her own art collection and family memorabilia, including her own wedding cake topper.
Despite being located in an inland county in southern central Florida, Hurricane Ian was slated to barrel through the area and the Peace River was getting high, so they sought shelter at Hardee Junior High School.
The current farm bill doesn’t expire until 2023, yet already advocates are lining up their arguments to assemble the kind of farm bill they want to see next year.
Watching the news and looking outside while sheltering at his parents’ home in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Father Enrique Camacho can’t fathom how almost five years to the day of Hurricane Maria the island is once again devastated, this time courtesy of Hurricane Fiona.
In recent weeks, Father Bob Damron has spent his time driving down winding eastern Kentucky roads, stopping by anyone he sees cleaning up mud and flood debris to offer both spiritual and physical support — a shoulder to cry on and a shovel to help dig.
Catholics make up less than 1% of the population in Eastern Kentucky, but local churches are stepping up in a big way to help victims of the devastating floods that hit the region on July 27.
The rains began late July 27 and went into the next day, causing massive flooding that destroyed hundreds of homes and wiped out entire communities, according to news reports. Search and rescue teams, with the help of the National Guard, began searching for missing people July 29. As of Aug. 1, 660 air rescues and hundreds of boat rescues had been conducted.
