LANSING, Mich. EWTN News) —The Catholic bishops of Michigan have voiced “deep concern” about the effectiveness of the U.S. immigration system and the lack of a consistent federal policy. They said failed policy, not undocumented immigrants, should be blamed for immigration problems.

“We encourage members of the Michigan Legislature to reject measures that impugn immigrants — especially the undocumented; and we encourage the Michigan congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., to contribute to federal efforts that seek to fix the nation’s immigration system,” the seven bishops of the Michigan Catholic Conference said in a July 19 statement.

They acknowledged the state’s authority to...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News) — The House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill that would establish a special envoy for religious freedom in countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The U.S. government needs an individual who can respond and focus on the critical situation of religious minorities in these countries, whose basic human rights are increasingly under assault,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., the bill’s sponsor, on July 29. “If the international community fails to speak out, the prospects for religious pluralism and tolerance in the region are bleak.”

If the position is established, the special envoy will monitor religious-rights violations and minority communities’...READ MORE

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a smartly made, effective movie — but what sort of movie is it, exactly?

An origin story, oh yes, like so many others this summer, including X-Men: First Class, Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America: The First Avenger. Like First Class, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a prequel/reboot to an existing cinematic franchise; and, like both First Class and Captain America — the best popcorn action movies of the summer — Rise tells a well-crafted back story about biologically enhanced beings.

In a number of respects, Rise of the Planet of the Apes plays as a sort of mirror image of Captain America. Instead of a research project intended to create an army...READ MORE

Heartbreak and Hunger in Somalia - Marry DeTurris Poust, Our Sunday Visitor

. . . News.va: Famine in Somalia spreads to three more areas . . .

Kenyan Bishops Launch Emergency Fund to Assist in Famine - Agenzia Fides

African Famine: Inhuman to Remain Indifferent - News.va/L’Osservatore Romano

The Archbishop Who Organized Two WYD’s - Andrés Beltramo Álvarez, La Stampa

. . . World Youth Day Madrid: A Day That Will Make History . . .

Never Give Up! Keep Praying & Working for Souls! - Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

How to be a Good Confessor - Fr. Ryan Erlenbush, The New Theological Movement

The Question of Government Size & Scope - Dr. Jeff Mirus, CatholicCulture.org/In...READ MORE

ROME (CNA) — When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Spain for World Youth Day mid-August, he will find a country gripped by economic crisis. Despite that, the papal nuncio to Madrid says Spanish enthusiasm for the papal visit is undiminished.

“Spain is waiting for the Holy Father with great desire and hope that he will also assist a recovery on a spiritual level,” said Archbishop Renzo Fratini to Vatican Radio Aug. 4, adding that in Madrid itself “there is great expectation, and the whole city is abuzz.” 

Spanish unemployment is currently the highest in the industrialized world, with nearly half of all young people unable to find work.

Spain “is going through a crisis of values and...READ MORE

ARGYLL, Scotland (CNA/EWTN News) — Over 6,000 children in drought-stricken east Africa will receive a daily meal from this week onward. It is all thanks to a charity founded by a Catholic aid worker who was recently declared a “CNN Hero” and awarded the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth for his work.

“The situation in east Africa has become increasingly desperate, with failed rains leading to dire food and water shortages. What was already a crisis has become an emergency,” Magnus MacFarlane Barrow, chief executive of Mary’s Meals, told CNA from the charity’s headquarters in Argyll, Scotland. 

The initiative will focus on the Turkana area of northern Kenya. It is just one...READ MORE

“This coming month and every month to come, more or less, this government will spend $300 billion a month. That’s a lot of money. It’s more than any government has ever spent in the history of man,” Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said in a closing speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, before August recess.

The speech came at the end of the Treasury-declared Aug. 2 deadline debt-ceiling debate in the Senate and helped put the whole fight in some context.

“$180 billion of that $300 billion is money that we collect from the people of our country through taxes and fees and other ways,” Rubio, a freshman senator, continued. “But we borrow $120 billion a month to pay our $300...READ MORE

Why are Prominent Pro-Lifers Swimming the Tiber? - Kevin Birnbaum, Our Sunday Visitor

Thomas Jefferson & Thomas Aquinas: An Imagined Encounter - Fr. J. Augustine Di Noia OP, First Things

Doing Good, and Avoiding Evil - Stephen Phelan, HLI America

The Secret of True Happiness - Father Christopher Jamison, Catholic Herald

A Handy Map Of Hell - Patrick Archbold, Creative Minority Report

Amateur Philosopher Stephen Hawking’s Ramblings - Monsignor Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

Nice Fornication - Anthony Esolen, The Catholic Thing

Dear Critics: Don’t Blame Vatican for Doctrines You Don’t Like - Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of New York

Syria: Father Paolo Dall’Oglio Says...READ MORE