On May 28, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing Aug. 22 as the Day to Commemorate Victims of Violence Based on Religion. The resolution invites all member states, relevant organizations, civil society, individuals and the private sector to observe the international day and show appropriate support for victims of religiously motivated violence.
The Path to Peace Foundation chose to honor the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need for its work in providing support and resources to persecuted Christians.
An advanced, unedited version of a ‘general comment’ on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the United Nations Human Rights Committee wants to define abortion and assisted suicide as a human right.
According to the head of the Iraq-based Chaldean Catholic Church, the United States government has done nothing to aid Christians in Iraq.
One year after Pope Francis’ visit to Colombia, where he urged forgiveness and reconciliation in a nation seeking to end its 50-year civil war, U.N. delegates attending an annual prayer vigil for the opening of the General Assembly were reminded that peace, while challenging, is achievable.
At the annual prayer service for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, participants were encouraged to follow the example of Archbishop Óscar Romero who was martyred for standing up to government abuse and promoting human dignity.
Today’s threats to global peace and security must be countered through dialogue and development, not nuclear weapons, Pope Francis told the United Nations.
While religious freedom in much of the Middle East is under siege and the civil war in Syria seems to have no end in sight, the Knights of Columbus and others called the United Nations to action. Sister Maria de Guadalupe Rodrigo spoke of her missionary experiences in Syria.
Amber Edwards shares how members of the Girls v Trafficking Club at St. Joseph H.S., Downtown Brooklyn, made their way to one of the sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
The heart of the work of the Church, Cardinal Nichols said, is “to look to, to rescue, to nurture, to comfort, to give freedom and a fresh start to the victims of trafficking.”
