immigrants
Pope Francis to take migrants and refugees in Cyprus to the Vatican
By Claire Giangravé — December 3, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Vatican announced 12 refugees and migrants in Cyprus and Greece will fly back to Rome with Pope Francis.
Pope heads to Cyprus and Greece, raising hopes he will change conversation on refugees
By Claire Giangravé — December 1, 2021
(RNS) — Five years ago, Pope Francis took 12 refugees with him from a camp in Greece. Migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece and Cyprus hope he will do so again.
Spirituality underpins migrant activism in US borderlands
By Anita Snow — June 8, 2021
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Protecting migrants and honoring the humanity of those who died on the perilous trail is a kind of religion in southern Arizona.
Border Patrol agents raid faith-based immigrant aid camp for second time in two months
By Jack Jenkins — October 7, 2020
(RNS) — The Unitarian Universalist group successfully sued the federal government over previous raids, arguing that helping migrants equated to exercising UU members’ ‘sincerely held religious beliefs.’
We can’t cancel ‘white Jesus,’ but we can keep telling our church’s story
By Paul Robinson — June 29, 2020
(RNS) — Today the Evangelical Covenant Church that commissioned Warner Sallman's portrait of Christ is creating art that reflects the beauty and diversity of God’s Kingdom.
One church’s tale of two pandemics, 100 years apart
By Megan Botel and Isaiah Murtaugh — April 14, 2020
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The experience of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, founded to serve Japanese immigrants at the time of the 1918 flu epidemic, shows how Americans of faith weathered a crisis strikingly similar to this one.
Pandemic, border crackdown hamper Catholics’ aid to migrants
By David Crary — April 6, 2020
NOGALES, Mexico (AP) — For years, Catholic-led, U-S.-based nonprofits have been at the forefront of efforts to support migrants and asylum seekers along the Mexican border. Tough new border policies, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, have drastically changed their work, much of which now takes place in Mexico. The once heavy flow of undocumented border-crossers […]
Federal judge accepts religious liberty defense of immigrant rights activists
By Jack Jenkins — February 4, 2020
(RNS) — U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez argued that not only are the activists' beliefs sincerely held, but also that prosecuting them amounts to a substantial burden on their faith.
As the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe approaches, the Virgin Mary inspires community
By Alejandra Molina — December 11, 2019
(RNS) — The Virgin of Guadalupe's feast day — according to Catholic teaching — marks the appearance of Mary to St. Juan Diego, an indigenous man, on a hill near Mexico City in 1531.
Mexican-born bishop chosen to soon lead the Diocese of San Bernardino
By Alejandra Molina — December 2, 2019
SAN BERNARDINO (RNS) — Bishop Alberto Rojas is slated to lead the Diocese of San Bernardino — the nation’s fifth-largest Roman Catholic Diocese — as Bishop Gerald Barnes prepares for retirement.
ICE drops $300,000 fine for an immigrant in church sanctuary
By Yonat Shimron — October 25, 2019
(RNS) — ICE spokesman Richard A. Rocha confirmed that his office has dropped the fines for eight undocumented immigrants.
In this Latino LA neighborhood, Jews commemorate an ancient biblical holiday
By Alejandra Molina — October 18, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — More than a dozen people gathered Sunday (Oct. 13) in Boyle Heights — a working-class Latino neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles that was once a thriving Jewish enclave — to observe the biblical holiday of Sukkot. It has been more than 30 years since this tradition was celebrated in this community.
Pope names 13 new cardinals, cements majority vote and the power to reshape the Church
By Claire Giangravé — October 5, 2019
Vatican City, (RNS) — With the creation of these new Catholic princes who share Francis’ emphasis on a missional and evangelizing church, Francis has now named a total of 91 new cardinals, and more than 52% of the voting cardinals.
Pope Francis showcases his commitment to immigrants with new statue at the Vatican
By Claire Giangravé — October 1, 2019
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — On Sunday, Pope Francis enshrined his commitment to immigrants and refugees by erecting a statue dedicated to the “angels unawares,” who every day put their lives at risk to find a new life in a new nation. The artwork is the first to be added to St. Peter’s Square in 400 years and depicts an issue central to Francis' pontificate.
In Coachella Valley, Catholic Church ministers to indigenous Purépechas
By Alejandra Molina — September 30, 2019
MECCA, Calif. (RNS) — Aida Sansor and Maria Teresa Pacheco have traveled the Eastern Coachella Valley area, seeking to connect with the indigenous Purépecha community.
