Articles by Courtney Mares
Jeff Sessions says the Bible justifies family separation. Does it?
Jun 15, 2018 / 16:01 pmThe Trump administration has pointed to the Bible in justifying its “zero-tolerance immigration policy,” which includes the separation of immigrant children from their parents.
Korean bishops call for prayer amid ‘joy’ after Trump-Kim North Korea summit
Jun 12, 2018 / 14:58 pmAt a highly-anticipated summit on June 12, President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un signed a joint-statement making commitments “to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.”
Third priest shot and killed in Philippines in six months
Jun 11, 2018 / 14:22 pmA Catholic priest in the Philippines was shot and killed in a chapel as he prepared to celebrate Sunday Mass on June 10, local police said.
Priests and scientists talk neuroscience, cosmology, and philosophy - with pie
Jun 10, 2018 / 04:00 amA Thomistic philosopher, an evolutionary biologist, and a Harvard astronomy professor walk into a bar. Well, not a bar.
UN Human Rights Office condemns US border separation of families
Jun 7, 2018 / 14:42 pmMaria had been a victim of sex trafficking and abuse by a local gang when she fled Guatemala. Taking her 3-year-old son, Jose, she made the trek to the U.S. border, seeking asylum in the United States.
Catholic churches offer relief after Guatemala's deadly volcano eruption
Jun 5, 2018 / 15:59 pmThree Catholic churches in Guatemala have opened their doors to shelter victims of Sunday’s sudden volcano eruption that devastated villages and left at least 70 people dead.
Hindu nationalists trample papal image, call for Christian-free India
Jun 5, 2018 / 02:01 amHindu nationalists trampled a photo of Pope Francis near Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi in a video calling for a Christian-free India which was recently posted online.
In an age of #MeToo, women take a ‘second look’ at the sexual revolution
Jun 1, 2018 / 15:43 pmFifty years after the sexual revolution promised female empowerment through casual sex “without consequences,” scholars are looking into the far-reaching social effects of that revolution.
Catholics respond to global forced migration crisis
May 30, 2018 / 16:06 pmAn unprecedented 66 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes by conflict and violence, according to a report released Wednesday the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
US Secretary of State announces major religious freedom meeting
May 29, 2018 / 15:33 pmThe U.S. government will host its first-ever Ministerial Meeting to Advance Religious Freedom this summer, newly-confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced May 29.
What Catholic communities can do to support foster children
May 27, 2018 / 15:01 pmAs the opioid crisis has left nearly half a million children in need of homes, Catholic leaders are calling their families and parishes to a work of mercy that is both pro-life and fruitful: supporting vulnerable children in foster care.
Reform bill the ‘first step’ to restorative prison justice, advocates say
May 24, 2018 / 04:00 amThe U.S. House of Representatives has passed prison reform legislation that would integrate faith-based programs into federal prisons to help prisoners prepare to successfully reenter society.
Letter asks Trump to remember political prisoners in North Korea negotiations
May 17, 2018 / 15:29 pmAs President Donald Trump prepares for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, religious freedom advocates are urging the U.S. president to negotiate the release of the remaining prisoners in North Korea’s labor camps.
Nigeria's bishops call for processions to honor those killed in church attack
May 16, 2018 / 16:09 pmNigeria’s Catholic bishops have called on each of the nation’s dioceses to organize peaceful processions May 22 in solidarity with the funeral for two priests and 17 others killed in an attack by Fulani herdsmen on a parish church.
Catholic leaders condemn use of disproportionate force at Gaza-Israel border
May 16, 2018 / 11:01 amDuring his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis lamented the latest violence in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, expressing his distress that the region is “increasingly moving away from the path of peace, dialogue and negotiations.”
In Iran, Christian converts face 10 year prison sentences
May 12, 2018 / 05:02 amIn Iran, conversion to Christianity can be a crime meriting a sentence of more than 10 years imprisonment.
Religious freedom efforts in the spotlight as North Korean prisoners freed
May 9, 2018 / 12:29 pmThe release of three American prisoners from North Korea was hailed as an important first step in addressing abuses within the nation, as U.S. leaders call for a continued expansion of religious freedom initiatives in U.S. foreign policy.
Christian leaders in Jerusalem respond to vandalism by settlers
May 7, 2018 / 15:27 pmChurch leaders are defending the need for a Christian presence in the Old City of Jerusalem, as some report increased vandalism, verbal abuse, and aggressive property acquisition by Jewish settlers.
Balancing human rights with peacebuilding efforts in North Korea
May 5, 2018 / 03:10 amThe potential release of three American prisoners from North Korea’s labor camps – reported to be “imminent” – would be a unique success at the intersection of human rights and peacebuilding efforts in the East Asian country.
As bishops say he's 'failed,' Nigeria's president meets with Trump
May 1, 2018 / 16:00 pmIn a meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House Monday, President Donald Trump expressed his concern about recent attacks on Christians in Nigeria.