Topic: US Domestic Issues
Finding out for the families of the missing what happened to border crossers who disappeared is “the sacred baseline” for her work, says anthropologist Robin Reineke, cofounder of the Missing Migrant Project at the Colibri Center for Human Rights in Tucson, Arizona. “Care of the dead is such a key part of the Catholic faith.” More
When there was violent unrest in Boston, members of the clergy learned to work both with the police and with potentially violent youth. They achieved much-publicized changes, but they also may have claimed success too soon. More
“These are folks that in many cases couldn’t pay like a two hundred dollar fine or ticket. They’re put on probation. They have to pay interest on what they owe, and they have to pay that company for the privilege of being supervised by them,” says Caroline Issacs, Arizona program director of the American Friends Service Committee. “It’s like a payday loan they end up paying ten times over, and these are people that are poor to begin with.” More
As thousands of unaccompanied migrant children cross the US-Mexico border, Americans are being challenged by how to respond. “This is what our Catholic faith calls us to do,” says John Andrews of the Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino County. But in Murrieta, California, Andrea Rockwood has a different perspective: “We need to fix our system before we can even help anybody. We can’t even help our own.” More
“The Catholic bishops had a really strong statement saying don’t send the kids back; that would be morally wrong to send them back to dangerous situations. Others in the religious community are saying it’s a matter of law and order.” More
Updated: The ruling has been released.A decision from the Supreme Court on the Hobby Lobby case is expected on Monday, June 30. The case challenges the reach of both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Affordable Care Act. Can the Christian owners of a for-profit corporation claim religious exemption from providing contraceptive insurance coverage to their employees? More
The rate of HIV infections in America is rising for young gay men. Groups like the Chicago-based Night Ministry are meeting them where they are, offering free testing right out of a van on the street. “Churches have been powerful communities of support for people living with HIV,” says Matt Richards of the University of Chicago Medicine’s community programs. “On the other hand, churches have often been a primary driver of really shaming, stigmatizing, inaccurate messages about HIV.” More
“The country’s long been divided over whether to have it. But that only led to even more difficult questions. How do you do it? How do you implement it? And can you do it fairly and rationally?” More
In the year since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many religious groups and interfaith organizations have advocated for more gun restrictions. More
A neuroscientist and an ethicist ponder the subject of violence and how to prevent it: “It’s beyond a reasonable doubt now that there is this brain basis to crime,” says Professor Adrian Raine. But “we have to be very careful how we use this information,” warns Professor Paul Wolpe. More
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