On World Refugee Day, June 20, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, called on the U.S. government to do more to assist Syrian refugees and to protect the rights of children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.• Noting simply, “We need solidarity” to survive the deadly Ebola virus, the Rev. Peter Konteh, executive director of Caritas for the Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone, issued a prayer request on June 20 for West African countries affected by the outbreak. • Pope Francis spoke out against legalizing marijuana and other so-called “recreational drugs” on June 20, arguing that legalization will not curb drug addiction rates and has little impact on the criminal organizations trafficking drugs around the world. • The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) had a busy general assembly in June, voting to redefine marriage to allow its ministers to perform same-sex marriages and to divest from three U.S. firms considered to be facilitators of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. • The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, in a letter to Pope Francis in June, criticized the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for his recent comments chastising the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
