Story - April 8, 2021 - As the U.S. took in almost 19,000 migrant children, labeled “unaccompanied minors,” in March, faith-based organizations such as Catholic Charities throughout the U.S. have been doing their part to help. In Texas, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio set up over 2,000 cots for their guests at the Freeman Coliseum to “welcome and…

Story - March 3, 2021 - Democratic members of the U.S. Senate were hopeful their version of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package would be passed the second week of March, so they could send it to President Joe Biden for his signature before unemployment assistance expires March 14. The measure includes $246 billion for extending unemployment benefits through August and…

Story - February 24, 2021 - Just as the coldest weather in more than 30 years brought new misery to asylum-seekers stranded in a refugee camp in Mexico, an end to their plight may be in sight. A small group of 25 was the first to leave the camp in Matamoros, Mexico, and enter the United States Feb. 22 in Brownsville,…

Story - February 22, 2021 - Despite the grip the historic winter storm had on north Texas, faith fueled outreach to Catholics and other community members in the Diocese of Dallas. “It’s an opportunity for us to provide to our parishioners in any way we can,” Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns said. “We recognize that we have to do church differently…

Story - January 25, 2021 - Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, Inc. seeks to rebuild homes and repair lives through its Purpose Home Repair and Plumbing social enterprise program. The primary initiatives of the program are to a) develop a home repair and construction social enterprise to help low-income, unemployed and underemployed people, with significant barriers to employment, gain marketable job…

Story - January 5, 2021 - The coronavirus has reshaped life in the United States in many ways, but in key respects it has affected Black, Native American and Latino individuals more than other racial or ethnic groups. People of color get sick and die of COVID-19 at rates higher than white individuals and higher than their share of the population,…

Story - October 27, 2020 - After more than 75 years helping form families through international adoption, Catholic Charities of Baltimore has closed its international adoption program. The agency cited changing circumstances within other countries and a “negative stance” toward international adoption from the U.S. government. Ellen Warnock, who has worked in the international adoption program for 36 years, called the…

Story - October 15, 2020 - Every week since March, an army of volunteers and Father Evelio Menjivar, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the Washington suburb of Landover Hills, Maryland, gather in the parish’s parking lot to give away boxes of food to local families in need. As the pandemic’s effects caused by COVID-19 started to surface, the parish…

Story - September 10, 2020 - When Sister Norma Pimentel used to query the needs of asylum-seekers in a tent camp along the Rio Grande in this Mexican border city, they asked for supplies such as utensils and blankets. Now when she speaks with them, they voice fears for their safety and ask about an exit. “We’re moving to a more…

Story - July 30, 2020 - The Democratic-led House approved the HEROES Act in May. The Republican-led Senate introduced the HEALS Act July 27. Besides the competing acronyms, the two bills offer competing visions of what it will take to keep the staggering American economy from landing on the canvas during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. HEROES stands for Health and Economic…

Story - July 15, 2020 - Across the country, Catholic dioceses, parishes and other church-run entities say the federal emergency “bridge loans” they applied for and received have helped keep much-needed ministries functioning during this coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn that has resulted. By some estimates, thousands of individual churches, schools, food pantries and other social service programs would have…

Story - July 7, 2020 - In an opinion piece in The Washington Post daily newspaper, Sister Norma Pimentel, known for her work with migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border near Brownsville, Texas, made a public plea July 6 to keep an eye on the plight of asylum-seekers during the coronavirus pandemic. She also called for an end to the Migrant Protection…