The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said it would not renew its cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support after its longstanding partnerships with the federal government in those areas became “untenable.”
Trump administration
Pro-Life Advocates Call on Trump, Congress to Fully Defund Planned Parenthood
By Kate Scanlon WASHINGTON (OSV) — A coalition of pro-life groups went to the U.S. Capitol March 27 to urge Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood, shortly before the Supreme Court is set to consider a case concerning that funding. The high court is scheduled to hear oral […]
Going From Cemetery Visits to Inauguration Blessings: Priest Forms Bond With President
It’s one of the most unlikely friendships you can imagine, and the way it came about is just as surreal. A retired Brooklyn priest and a president of the United States struck up a relationship because the clergyman took an interest in the president’s family gravesite.
Advocates Worry Anti-Immigrant Provisions Will Make Way Into Spending Bill
Faith-based groups are voicing worries that lawmakers will extend already existing provisions to further prevent immigrants from entering the U.S. as legislators haggle over what will be included in a historic $260 billion spending bill focused on health care and the environment.
Judge Threatens to Block Biden’s Plan to End Pandemic Border Restriction
A federal judge at an April 25 hearing said he would grant the requests of three states to force the federal government to keep in place a public-health order at the U.S.-Mexico border that has increased the number of expulsions of immigrants trying to cross into the United States.
Government to Lift Health Measure That Blocks Entrance of Asylum-Seekers
News reports say the Biden administration may lift a public health measure in May that was put in place at the start of the coronavirus pandemic that has kept asylum-seekers out.
Catholic Leaders Urge Humane Treatment for Haitian Migrants as Numbers Grow
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee and the head of Catholic Charities USA issued a joint statement Sept. 22 urging humane treatment of Haitians and other migrants as their numbers grow in southern Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bishops Propose Action Plan to Tackle Root Causes Of Migration Crisis
Bishop Mario Dorsonville remembers a conversation he once had with a woman named Rosalinda in a doctor’s office. Rosalinda, a migrant, had legs full of cactus thorns from her journey through the desert to get to the U.S., but she explained that’s not what hurt most.
U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Could Lead to Civil War, Says Priest in Kabul
The biggest risk Afghanistan might face with a withdrawal of U.S. troops could be civil war, said the Italian priest in charge of the small Catholic community in Afghanistan.
Northern Mexico Border Cities Bear Brunt of Border Challenges, Advocate Says
As migrants from Mexico and Central America flee north simultaneously, the United States is deporting hundreds of migrants a day, advocates on the Mexico side of the border say they’re bearing the brunt of both realities.