The recent tragic mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, killing at least 29 people, point to an ongoing epidemic of mass shootings in the United States. As of Aug. 5, the 217thday of the year, there were 255 mass shootings – more mass shootings than number of days so far this year.

Many of us are not fond of seeing animals in cages. But when desperate human beings – especially children – who have trekked the grueling, dangerous journey mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras fleeing gang drug violence, forced gang recruitment, extortion and crushing poverty finally arrive at the U.S. border pleading for safe asylum find themselves instead crammed into cages, it’s time for people of faith to take a stand and demand an end to this heartless cruelty.

If you were at least 10-years-old on July 20, 1969, you will surely remember that your eyes were glued to a black and white television set watching what no eyes had ever seen before.

A birthday is naturally a time to celebrate the God-given gift of life – the past year, as well as all the years the Almighty has blessed each of us with.

The Catholic Church has a very big secret. It is so powerful, challenging and relevant, that if every bishop, priest, religious and layperson was committed to communicating and implementing this secret, it would turn society upside-down and literally transform the world!

Flag waving and military parades are synonymous with Memorial Day. It is a day of intense nationalism – highlighting a perceived need for military strength.

“The persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history,” says Aid to the Church in Need – a papal charity – in its report on oppressed Christians titled “Persecuted and Forgotten?” (see: https://bit.ly/2DimV2a).

“Unplanned” is an inspiringly powerful movie that will deeply touch your heart. It will move you to feel uncomfortable, angry, sad, enlightened, encouraged, vindicated and joyful. You’ll probably even shed some tears, as I did.

As foreign ministers of the 29 member nations of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), gathered in Washington, D.C. on April 3-4 to commemorate the 70thanniversary of the founding of this largest military alliance in the world, nonviolent peace activists across the U.S. and from around the world also gathered in Washington to proclaim: “No to NATO – Yes to Peace.”

Making a Difference Thirty plus years ago, the U.S. Catholic bishops wrote a very challenging pastoral letter titled “Economic Justice for All.” In their opening statement they prophetically declared, “Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral and Christian must be shaped by three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does it do to people? And how do people participate in it?”

Imagine you’re sitting in front of your doctor, and he says that your health definitely needs to improve.  He then looks you square in the eyes and says, “If you wish to live a healthy long life, you must stop eating junk food and living a sedentary lifestyle, and start eating plenty of healthy foods and exercise every day.”

“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” With these beautiful words from Scripture (1 Jn. 3:1), the U.S. Catholic bishops introduce us to their recent pastoral letter against racism titled, “Open wide our hearts: the enduring call to love.”

My fellow Americansand fellow citizens of the world,the greatness of a nation is not measured by its military oreconomic power, but to the degree it is willing to help the poor and vulnerable.

In the more than 30 annual Washington, D.C. Marches for Life I have participated in, I always think the current march is the largest ever. But since accurate figures are hard to come by, it usually comes down to taking a good guess. But a 60-second time-lapse video produced by Students for Life of America clearly reveals, regardless of the exact number, that this year’s March flowed on and on (check it out https://bit.ly/2Hu3sC2).

Blaming huge numbers of violent killings, assaults, sex crimes and drug overdoses on undocumented immigrants, President Donald Trump in his first prime-time speech from the Oval Office (Jan. 8) said, “This is a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul,” and insisted that Congress provide $5.7 billion for a wall extension along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump’s words are absolutely correct: “This is a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.” But how he applies these words are absolutely incorrect.

As the saying goes, “Politics and religion don’t mix.” Although this cliché is espoused by many, you will not hear it from Pope Francis. On the contrary, the leader of the Catholic Church firmly teaches that our Gospel-based faith has a wealth of wisdom to offer the often corrupt world of politics. And that it is our duty to strive to infuse that wisdom into the body politic.

Many years ago as a young man born and raised in Baltimore, I spent a very different week getting a taste of life in Appalachia. The opportunity to travel from the hustle of big city life to the quiet beautiful mountainous area of eastern Kentucky – to deepen my Catholic faith, experience Christian community with other young adults from around the U.S., and help the rural poor – was an offer this adventurous soul jumped at!

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, it’s appropriate that the church designates the last Sunday as the Solemnity of Christ the King; for it calls to mind the last day of history, when Christ the King of the universe will come in all his glory to judge the living and the dead.

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice was declared, effectively ending one of the worst conflicts in history – World War I. On Nov. 11 the United Stated, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and several other nations will observe the 100th anniversary of that historic day when the warring nations of the world finally stopped all the killing, injuring and destruction which filled the years between 1914 and 1918.

The United States and the world are in trouble! We need to take it seriously. And we need to elect candidates who will take it seriously. Continuing to largely ignore the numerous grave problems facing humanity and the planet we all live on, is both perilous and immoral. The earth is continuing to dangerously heat up. Tons upon tons of global warming greenhouse gases being irresponsibly poured into the atmosphere – mainly by burning fossil fuels of gas, coal and oil – is causing in various regions of the world accelerated flooding, droughts, heat waves, forest fires, increased threats of animal and plant extinctions and more intense hurricanes.