Boston cardinal: Getting COVID vaccine 'morally correct thing to do'
- Jan 20, 2021
When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico Sept. 20, its 155-mph winds knocked out electricity to the entire island, leaving its 3.4 million people in the dark. Funds from Catholic Charities USA will assist Caritas Puerto Rico as it begins the work of recovery, and the Knights of Columbus have raised more than $2.8 million as part of an ongoing national appeal.
More than 1,300 people were helped with basic necessities, referrals, emergency funds and gift cards to help them deal with the challenges caused by Hurricane Harvey. The biggest challenges Catholic Charties face include trying to find places to store donated supplies and relocating residents with no affordable housing available.
“The USCCB is monitoring the budget and appropriations process in Congress very carefully, and is analyzing the proposed House budget resolution in more detail,” said Bishop Frank J. Dewane, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.
As President Donald Trump has signed executive orders temporarily banning immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries, Catholic advocates for immigrants look for new ways to help change the narrative on people coming into the country and look for new allies who share the same values.
Following President Donald Trump’s executive order barring people from several Muslim majority countries from entering the United States, workers at Catholic Charities Immigration Services and Refugee Resettlement programs reported receiving many questions and concerns from refugees and migrants.
Catholic leaders on the front lines of working with immigrants and refugees are expressing alarm over recent memoranda from the Department of Homeland Security that appear to set the stage for widespread deportations, calling the policy neither humane nor just.