News & Commentary

People attend a vigil in support of immigration detainees at the entrance of "Alligator Alcatraz" Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, detention center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Fla., Aug. 10, 2025. (OSV New/Marco Bello, Reuters)

More states move to copy ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ amid reports of inhumane conditions

August 22, 2025
A Central American nonprofit center in Florida reports one of its client family members -- despite having an active asylum claim and no criminal record -- was recently detained on his way to work and sent to Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz."
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Pope to nurses, midwives: ‘Thank you for your service’

May 16, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has drawn well-deserved attention to nurses and midwives, who are among "the saints next door," dedicated to helping people in some of the most joyful or painful moments of their lives, Pope Francis said.
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Soviet prisoners of conscience petitioned John Paul II for help

May 16, 2020
Soviet political prisoners from various backgrounds begged St. John Paul II's help in secret messages after his 1978 election, according to a former inmate in recollections published for the late pope's hundredth birthday.
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Advocates fight traffickers who thrive despite pandemic

May 16, 2020
Advocates fighting human traffickers are alerting children, parents and vulnerable adults that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed traffickers into new venues, potentially endangering more people to being exploited.
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Church shows creativity ministering during pandemics

May 16, 2020
The Catholic Church's acceptance of a ban on gathering for public worship and following other painful COVID-19 restrictions reflects its long-held understanding that faith, service and science are not at war with one another.
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Italy grants temporary residency to migrant farmworkers

May 16, 2020
In an effort to curb the exploitation of migrant laborers and boost its crippling agriculture industry, the Italian government has granted temporary residency to agricultural workers without proper immigration documents.
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Priests ‘Walk for the Poor’ to raise money, pray for all hit by virus

May 16, 2020
As four priests of the Archdiocese of Washington started out on a three-day, 54-mile "Walk for the Poor," they wanted those suffering from the impact of the coronavirus to know they are not alone, that Jesus is with them.
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