Articles by Kevin J. Jones
No, Indiana did not just pass a law discriminating against gay people. Here's why.
Mar 27, 2015 / 16:32 pmDespite media hype, a new Indiana law is not based on anti-gay discrimination, but on a 20-year legal precedent of protecting the rights of religious individuals and charitable organizations, say religious liberty advocates.
A grave problem – NJ ban on religious headstone sales could violate constitution
Mar 26, 2015 / 03:01 amA New Jersey law crafted to ban the Archdiocese of Newark from selling cemetery headstones might not pass muster under judicial review, according to a constitutional law expert.
Fifty years later, remembering the civil rights march that moved a nation
Mar 25, 2015 / 13:36 pmCatholic leaders marked the 50th anniversary of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. with praise for those who advanced racial progress, calling on others to “march on” toward unity of hearts and minds.
San Francisco cathedral sprinkler aimed for safety, not homeless
Mar 18, 2015 / 16:09 pmSan Francisco’s cathedral installed a special sprinkler system to wash out “needles, feces and other dangerous items” from its doorways – and never intended to remove homeless people sleeping there, the archdiocese has explained in the face of media attacks.
Patrick: the saint who knew what it was like to be a slave
Mar 17, 2015 / 03:02 amMany know that Saint Patrick, bishop and missionary to Ireland, was once a slave – but few know of his heartfelt plea on behalf of girls and boys abducted into slavery.
Catholics supporting Archbishop Cordileone on school identity feel silenced, pressured
Mar 12, 2015 / 16:05 pmAmid a PR campaign and protests against Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s attempt to clarify Catholic teaching in the San Francisco schools, those who support the archbishop say their voices are not being heard.
Catholic dissenters' convention keynoter: A pornographic sex columnist?
Mar 12, 2015 / 01:31 amDan Savage coordinates an annual pornography festival. He has made obscene tirades about Pope Benedict XVI, denigrated the practice of monogamy, insulted high school students and publicly harassed politicians he opposes.
Oil company hit man has Archbishop Cordileone in his sights
Feb 27, 2015 / 17:20 pmSam Singer’s public relations firm spun a Chevron oil refinery disaster in California and fought back a legal ruling in Ecuador that could have awarded billions of dollars to indigenous people for the company’s alleged pollution damage to the Amazon.
Mystic, monk and poet – meet the newest Doctor of the Church
Feb 23, 2015 / 16:37 pmSt. Gregory of Narek – a tenth century priest, monk, mystic, and poet beloved among Armenian Christians – has become the first Armenian to be named a Doctor of the Church.
As storm brews, San Fran archbishop strikes back at school guideline critics
Feb 20, 2015 / 15:19 pmPoliticians have targeted San Francisco Catholic schools’ teacher standards, but Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone says they are a matter of Catholic mission and common sense.
Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom?
Feb 13, 2015 / 04:02 amQuestions are being raised over two U.S. foundations that have poured more than three million dollars into abortion rights, LGBT activist, and legal groups to push the message that exemptions based on religious beliefs are “un-American” and an abuse of liberty.
Statue of Pope Francis' new saint could be kicked out of US capitol
Feb 10, 2015 / 04:01 amJust weeks after Pope Francis announced his intention to canonize missionary Father Junipero Serra during his upcoming visit to the states, a California legislator has proposed replacing the soon-to-be-saint's statue in the U.S. Capitol – but critics of the move are beginning to speak out.
After pilot's heinous execution, Jordan's Christians pray for religious harmony
Feb 4, 2015 / 17:01 pmChristians in Jordan have responded to the Islamic State's gruesome execution of a captured Jordanian pilot with sorrow, calling for prayer and religious and national unity.
Can Christians survive the 'dirty games' of Middle East politics?
Jan 30, 2015 / 16:19 pmChristians have lived in the Middle East since the time of the apostles, but political machinations by world powers and other groups put these communities at risk of extinction, a Jordanian priest fears.
Ecumenism will break shackles of racism, St Louis priest says
Jan 19, 2015 / 00:03 amThe ecumenism preached by Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is key to breaking the shackles of individualism and systemic racism, a St. Louis priest has said.
At papal Mass in Sri Lanka, disabled man seeks 'big blessing'
Jan 13, 2015 / 23:16 pmAmong the attendees at the papal Mass in Sri Lanka on Wednesday was Romello Dias, a 20-year-old man who has been suffering major health problems for five years.
Vatican condemns 'horrible attack' on French newspaper
Jan 7, 2015 / 12:32 pmPope Francis has voiced his “strongest condemnation” of the “horrible attack” on a French satirical newspaper that published insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, and he urged opposition to all hatred and violence.
Iraqi Christians say there's no going home after rise of Islamic State
Jan 7, 2015 / 04:02 amChristians lived in Iraq for nearly two thousand years, but the violent rise of the Islamic State has convinced many Christian refugees they must forever leave their homeland.
In refugee limbo, Iraqi Christians keep the faith
Dec 29, 2014 / 06:01 amThreatened by forced conversion or death at the hands of the Islamic State, many Iraqi Christians have had to flee their homes – but one refugee family sheltered at a Jordanian church has declared their continued faith.
Catholic refugee relief opens hearts in Syria
Dec 26, 2014 / 06:02 amCatholic participation in refugee and humanitarian relief in the Syrian civil war is strengthening a foundation for future peace despite the great difficulties of the region, says an official of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.