Articles by Courtney Mares
Pence announces Genocide Recovery Program for Iraqi minorities
Jul 26, 2018 / 15:30 pmVice President Mike Pence announced the establishment of the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Program on Thursday “to rapidly deliver aid to persecuted communities, beginning with Iraq.”
What makes the Holy See's diplomacy unique
Jul 25, 2018 / 23:19 pmAt a religious freedom event in Washington, D.C., this week, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States explained how the Holy See takes a unique approach to diplomacy and the promotion of religious liberty.
Sec. Pompeo speaks ahead of first ever Ministerial on religious freedom
Jul 20, 2018 / 14:30 pmThe U.S. State Department is set to host the largest and highest-level global meeting on religious liberty next week. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told EWTN he is prepared to talk with countries with whom the U.S. government has “deep disagreements.”
Does faith get a yellow card at the FIFA World Cup?
Jul 6, 2018 / 11:00 amAs a passionate soccer fan, Jennifer Bryson has been faithfully watching every game she can during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But as a religious freedom expert, she’s found herself wondering how, and why, soccer authorities regulate the many religious expressions on display in the international soccer tournament.
Pope Francis denounces silence in the face of injustice toward migrants
Jul 6, 2018 / 04:54 amPope Francis called on Catholics to speak out in the face of injustice towards migrants at a Mass commemorating the fifth anniversary of his trip to Lampedusa at St. Peter’s Basilica July 6.
‘Holy mayor’ Giorgio La Pira takes next step to sainthood
Jul 5, 2018 / 10:50 amMost mayors do not live in unheated monastic cells, deliver candy from Orthodox patriarchs to the pope, or become ambassadors for international peace. Giorgio La Pira was not like most mayors.
The Catholic Church's long history of resettling refugees in the US
Jun 21, 2018 / 15:26 pmThe Catholic Church has resettled nearly one-third of all refugees received by the United States since 1980 through a public-private partnership with a high rate of successful integration of refugees into society, according to a report released in June 2018.
US aid to Iraqi Christians, Yazidis on fast track via Catholic Relief Services
Jun 19, 2018 / 15:52 pmThe United States Agency for International Development has announced it is investing $10 million into coalitions led by Catholic Relief Services and Heartland Alliance to help rebuild Christian and other minority communities in Iraq who suffered genocide under the Islamic State.
Novena for North Korea sheds light on issues beyond denuclearization
Jun 16, 2018 / 14:58 pmFollowing two historic summits involving North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s bishops are calling on Catholics to pray a novena for nine specific intentions for the Korean peninsula June 17 - 25.
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.