Spiritual crisis led Oregon woman on journey to become consecrated virgin
- Dec 14, 2019
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami warns that Venezuela is teetering on the edge of a civil war, and if that happens, it could become the Syria of Latin America. He also said the rising generation of Cuban-Americans largely doesn’t want President Trump to roll back the opening under Obama, that Pope Francis’s looming trip to Colombia could be the “exclamation point” on its peace process, and that in Haiti, the Catholic Church is there to stay.
Founded in 1966, the Italian-Latin American International Organization seeks to increase “economic, social, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation” between Latin American countries and Italy. Commemorating the organization’s 50th anniversary, Pope Francis said that to achieve the goal of promoting development and cooperation, the organization must first identify the potential of Latin American countries, who are “rich in history, culture, natural resources” and “good and caring” people.
Catholic leaders in the U.S. have expressed their support for the decision of prolonging the Temporary Protected Status program for Haitians until at least January. The decision affects more than 58,000 Haitians in the U.S. who will have an opportunity to stay in the country after a powerful earthquake leveled their homeland in 2010. The worry is what will happen after the six month extension ends.
At a hilltop crucifix in struggling Haiti, some people held out passports, pleading for visas, or dog-eared photos of sick relatives. Others prayed for a loving relationship or a steady job while carrying beeswax candles and rosary beads, in an annual ceremony that blends traditional Catholic devotion with elements of Voodoo, a religion that evolved in the 17th century when colonists brought slaves to Haiti from West Africa.
Cooperation between the bishops’ conference, the ministry of health and the community helped create a new hospital in Haiti’s Southern coast. The facility provides health care to the area’s population already struggling with poverty and malnutrition.
Migrants seeking refuge in the United States aren’t only coming from Syria and the Middle East. There are large numbers of Haitians who are trying to enter the U.S. as well seeking refuge from poverty, crime, political instability and most recently Hurricane Matthew which devastated the Caribbean nation in October.