Immigration Archives

Catholic leaders decry SCOTUS upholding parts of Trump travel ban

On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling in a religious freedom case described by a leading bishop as a “landmark victory,” it also upheld parts of the Trump administration’s travel ban on people from six majority-Muslim states, a decision another U.S. bishop warned “will have human consequences.”

As Pope Francis gives Sweden a cardinal, what’s behind his Scandinavian push?

Analysis

June 26, 2017

Although the plates were already shifting towards Sweden as the lead actor for Catholicism in the Nordic countries before Francis came along, the signs of interest and favor have multiplied on his watch, including giving Sweden its first-ever cardinal this week. Evangelical opportunities, immigration and ecumenism may all lie in the background of the pope’s Swedish outreach.

Bishops’ concerns for religious liberty, health care echo at assembly

The annual spring meeting of the U.S. bishops in Indianapolis made many decisions on a plethora of issues, such as migration, health care and religious liberty. The bishops also discussed the upcoming Convocation of Catholic Leaders and the Synod for Young People.

Deportation feared as program protecting parents of citizen children ends
- Catholic News Service, Church in the US
- June 19, 2017
“DAPA gave many hope when it was announced, and today families are living in very real fear of family separation,” Ashley Feasley, director of policy for the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services, said. “The bishops will work with Congress to find a solution for the 4 million hardworking parents of U.S. citizens and (legal permanent residents) but continue to urge this administration to use its discretion to stop tearing apart families.”
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Bishop says secular Danes like Francis enough to ‘forgive him’ for being Catholic
- Global Church, Interviews
- June 17, 2017
Denmark, like other Nordic countries, is considered to be one of the most thoroughly secular cultures on earth, which means that traditional Catholic teaching on issues such as abortion, women priests and gay marriage often generates reactions ranging from incomprehension to hostility. Such is Pope Francis’s popularity, however, that Bishop Czeslaw Kozon says most Danes “forgive him” for upholding those positions.
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As Merkel calls on Pope Francis, is a partnership in the works?
- Analysis, Vatican
- June 15, 2017
Popes generally work hard to have good relations with politicians of all stripes, but when they find one of consequence with whom they have a special rapport, history can change. Looking around the global stage today, the best candidate for such a partner of Pope Francis may well be Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who’s coming calling on the pontiff on Saturday.
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