Catholic theologians and other experts discussed the impact of Pope Francis' pontificate on issues, particularly migration, as the pope remained in the hospital during a March 19 panel hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.
Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on issues including migration, the environment and the death penalty are "deeply troubling," Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a Jan. 22 statement, while praising another on gender policy.
Donald Kerwin set the tone for an Oct. 16 webinar on migrant deaths with a clarifying statement: "Accounting for deaths, it means more than accurately counting them or enumerating them. ... What it means is identifying decedents, investigating deaths, determining their causes and repatriating remains to loved ones."
The U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 22 allowed Border Patrol agents to cut through or remove razor wire that Texas installed on a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the state's effort to prevent illegal border crossings.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is "the mother of all mothers -- a loving bridge between worlds and peoples who unifies through her maternal embrace," the U.S. bishops' migration chairman said in a statement issued on the Dec. 12 Marian feast.
The formation of seminarians, the Catholic Church as a welcoming home for all, migration and ecumenism arose as common themes of discussion among participants of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 6, the Vatican said.
Pope Francis' planned trip to the eastern Mediterranean in December will focus on migration, Catholic-Orthodox relations and promoting peace in a region known more for its vacation spots than its ongoing political tensions.
The Mexican bishops' migrant ministry has called on the federal government to return to a policy of "open arms" as the country experiences heavy waves of migration -- most visibly with Haitians, who recently traveled the length of Mexico to the U.S. border in large numbers.
The coronavirus pandemic has complicated the situation of migrants and refugees, but it has not stopped people from seeking safety and a better life abroad, and it has not diverted the Vatican's attention from their plight.
Facing the challenge of the migration crisis will require voices and actions taken up in solidarity with migrants across the globe, said a speaker at a Sept. 11 dialogue on immigration at Georgetown University.
Catholic bishops from both sides of the border near McAllen, Texas, issued a joint statement expressing condolences to the families of migrant children and parents who recently drowned trying to cross the river into the United States.
