The U S bishops welcomed the decision of federal government leaders to agree to end the partial government shutdown 16 days after closing many offices and suspending important programs and services The bishops also were heartened that so many who had been out of work could return to their jobs ld

Some thoughts quot On the International Day to Eradicate Poverty quot nbsp from Joe Donnelly of Caritas Internationalis The MDGs are still here They keep coming up They 39 re informing many They 39 re disturbing others They speak from people everywhere They 39 re demanding our attention Tomorro

Just weeks after it issued a damning report which connected the Syrian government to chemical weapons attacks on rebel-held areas outside Damascus, Human Rights Watch issued a new report today on human rights abuses and possible war crimes, this time implicating groups which are part of the arm

Today is the global celebration of the United Nation 39 s International Day of the Girl Child nbsp Rev Richard Ryscavage S J director of Fairfield University rsquo s Center for Faith and Public Life applauded the U N initiative which focuses on the pivotal need to educate girls as ldquo a

The percentage of multicultural parishes in the U S is on the increase according to new research from the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate C A R A C A R A estimates there are approximately 6 700 multicultural parishes in the United States many located

Global wealth has reached a new all-time high of $241 trillion, up 4.9 percent since last year and 68 percent since 2003, with the United States accounting for 72 percent of the latest increase. That’s the account of earthly wealth taken in the 2013 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. Average

A new report from the World Bank urges greater access for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories to land in Area C More than half the land in the West Bank much of it agricultural and resource rich is inaccessible to Palestinians The first comprehensive study of the potential impact of this q

Pope Francis is continuing his informal outreach to gay and lesbian Catholics hat tip Daily Dish and despite his apparent comfort with modern social media and its dizzying gadgetry he is apparently still happy to make use of old-school communication tools Pope Francis turned to pen and paper

The fiscal hostage crisis in Washington enters its second week as Speaker Boehner insists he will continue government shutdown unless he receives concessions on the Affordable Care Act which is having gridlock troubles of its own unrelated to political snarls Ailing U S cities seek reboot powered

More refugee deaths on the sea near the southern Italian island of Lampedusa has brought international focus to an ongoing tragedy—an unknowable loss of life as thousands of refugees and migrants each year seek to escape to Europe from North Africa in sometimes overloaded or ramshackle watercr