Aleja Hertzler-McCain

On the first day of the bishops’ recent meeting in Baltimore, Bishop Daniel Thomas — who was elected last fall to lead their Committee on Pro-Life Activities and began his three-year term on Nov. 13 —  sat down with RNS for an interview.

The host country for the annual summit has come under international scrutiny for human rights and religious freedom violations, leading some activists to question why there has not been more pushback from the global climate advocates, including faith organizations.

Trump has made inroads into the Latino community's solid support for Democratic candidates, but remarks made at a rally at Madison Square Garden may cause some to rethink.

"If we don’t learn how to speak to our children, well, then, we’re going to continue on the same path, and we’re going to continue to lose them," Espaillat warned.

The survey also found that Francis’ popularity has dropped throughout Latin America in the last decade, though significant majorities of Latin American Catholics still view him favorably.

Many trend pieces about Latino voters claim that there has been a significant spike in the Latino evangelical population. However, that narrative doesn’t bear out in the polling. Instead, religious disaffiliation is chipping away at the Catholic base, as religiously unaffiliated Latinos are seeing the largest growth of any faith category among Latinos.

Catholic leaders throughout the Americas are expressing grief and outrage at the killing of Juan Antonio López, a Honduran environmental activist and local Catholic leader, in Tocoa, in northeastern Honduras, on Saturday (Sept. 14). López, described by friends as his local bishop’s right-hand man, was shot dead by several men as he left church Saturday night, according to Reuters. 

On Thursday (July 25), Ascension, one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the U.S., announced that it would sell nine hospitals and four post-acute and older adult living facilities in Illinois to Prime Healthcare. Eight of the hospitals would be managed under Prime Healthcare’s for-profit wing.

“The targeting of this faith-based agency and broader attacks on the Catholic Church should deeply concern Catholics, religious liberty advocates and all people of good will,” Kerry Alys Robinson, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, told Religion News Service in a statement, referring to Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

In the wake of major layoffs in one department of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference, concerns are being raised about whether the department, which works on aid and justice initiatives domestically and internationally, has the capacity to continue its work.

 "We’re focusing on the bishops because they make the decisions. We’re focusing on the national because that’s where the power lies. But don’t forget the power of the pews," said Ana Garcia-Ashley, executive director of the Gamaliel Network

The USCCB department facing cuts includes programs focused on international policy, environmental justice, racism and domestic anti-poverty initiatives. 

According to a letter Sen. Chuck Grassley sent Ascension, whistleblowers disclosed proposed changes to staffing with SCP Health, the new firm overseeing physician staffing, that could have hospitalists seeing twice the national average of patients per day.

'Everything that happens in the United States impacts the southern border of the US and the northern border of Mexico,' the Rev. Francisco Bueno said. 'We always have to be at the ready.'

"Latinos are poised to be leaders in their communities and nationally on environmental issues," said one panelist at this week's Latino Leader Gathering sponsored by Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.

While they emphasized their resolve and hope, advocates for women deacons also expressed surprise and dismay at the interview. 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore's plan to close about two-thirds of parishes in the city of Baltimore drew blistering criticism at a recent public forum.

‘The Sound of Silence’ version of the ‘Our Father’ has been widespread throughout Latin America and U.S. Latino communities for the last few decades.

The bishops have urged more support for mothers and families, even as Ascension, one of the largest Catholic health care providers in the U.S., has been closing labor and delivery units at its hospitals. 

Katie Pruitt, a queer singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee, writes music that, with agile vocals and catchy guitar riffs, explores the fraught nature of leaving one’s childhood faith.