Why?

Why are so many Central Americans attempting to enter the United States?  Why are they so desperate that they even try to send their unaccompanied children?  Click here to read an article from the Catholic Herald explaining the plight of one group of would-be migrants in San Salvador.

"Poverty is a Circumstance, not a Value Judgment."

Click here to read Darlena Cunha's Washington Post article about going from wealth to poverty. Entitled "This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps," her sharing is a reminder about the judgments we make of "the poor" -- who they are, why they are poor, and what they should/should not be doing/buying/wearing if they are poor.  Perhaps the most important reminder in this article is this perceptive sentence:  "Poverty is a circumstance, not a value judgment." 

July Stop Trafficking Newsletter

Click here to access the July issue of the Stop Trafficking newsletter, focusing on the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.  The theme of this year's TIP is "The Journey from Victim to Survivor."

Day 14: Fortnight for Freedom

Click here for today's Fortnight for Freedom reflection (the final one).  Here's an excerpt: "What is the relationship between growing religious diversity, as well as growing interactions among people of different faiths, and religious liberty?"

Perhaps we could close our observance of the Fortnight for Freedom by praying the "Litany of Liberty," available here. 

Happy Independence Day to all of our readers in the U.S.A. -- and those who are observing the holiday from outside the country, too!

Day 13: Fortnight for Freedom

Click here for today's Fortnight for Freedom reflection.  Here's an excerpt: "In the United States, religious freedom is protected in the Constitution. . . . Are those constitutional protections enough? Are they growing stronger or weaker in our society today? What else, apart from the law, can strengthen or weaken religious liberty? What should Catholics do to defend and foster religious liberty in America today? What have Catholics done in the past when religious liberty was threatened?"

Day 12: Fortnight for Freedom

Click here for today's Fortnight for Freedom reflection.  Here's an excerpt:  "What present circumstances threaten the freedom of the Catholic Church particularly? Are threats to the Church's freedom always from without, or do threats arise from within the Church itself? What threats in the past has the Church in our country had to contend with?"

Day 11: Fortnight for Freedom

Click here for today's Fortnight for Freedom reflection.  Here's an excerpt:  "What causes religious conflicts today? Do governments always adequately respond to such conflicts? What distinguishes "public order" (which limits religious freedom) from an ordinary policy preference of government (which does not)?"