U.S. government

The recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to extend restrictions on nonessential crossings of the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic did not surprise Catholics who work with migrants in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

"Walking the Good Red Road: Nicholas Black Elk's Journey to Sainthood" is a documentary about the man who may become the second Native American and first male American Indian to be canonized a saint.

Catholic migrant ministries of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras have called for an end to deportations during the COVID-19 crisis, saying the practice exposes an already vulnerable group to health and security risks — especially those sent summarily to countries of which they are not citizens.

Two leading proponents of debt relief for developing countries urged the White House to lead the call for a moratorium on debt payments for poor nations so they can devote funds to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Native islanders on Guam are expecting to get long-awaited compensation from the U.S. government for their suffering at the hands of imperial Japan during World War II.

The 16 United Methodist bishops and advocacy group leaders who negotiated a recent proposal to split the denomination explained their reasoning at an event that was streamed live by United Methodist News Service.

The tweet early Jan. 3 from Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, asked for prayers. It wasn't an unusual request from a church leader. Still, its significance stems from its context and its timing: a few hours after the overnight killing of Iran's top military leader, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.

A Catholic member of Congress and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom welcomed the U.S. Department of State's redesignation of nine nations as "countries of particular concern" for carrying out or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom."