Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Traffic fatalities were up 9 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year, continuing a surge in deaths that began two years ago as the economy improved and travel picked up, according to preliminary estimates released Tuesday by the National Safety Council....
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's artillery shelled Islamic State group targets across the border in Syria for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, a senior Turkish official said, amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels were preparing an offensive against an IS-held border town in northern Syria....
(Vatican Radio) A report by Unicef says thousands of children from Central America are trying to reach the United States, with Mexico being used as their final transit zone. Listen to James Blears' report: The Unicef report says that in the first six months of this year almost 26,000 unaccompanied children were detained at or around the US Border. Mexican authorities confirm they apprehended more than 16,000 of these migrant children and youngsters. Thirty thousand families of undocumented migrants were also discovered in this region.Most come from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which are ravaged by extreme poverty and criminal gangs which recruit by force, and indoctrinate children as young as eight. Those children who refuse to obey are often murdered. These three countries have some of the worst homicide rates in the world.Non-governmental organizations estimate that as many as 20,000 Central American would be migrants annually vanish in Me...
(Vatican Radio) A report by Unicef says thousands of children from Central America are trying to reach the United States, with Mexico being used as their final transit zone.
Listen to James Blears' report:
The Unicef report says that in the first six months of this year almost 26,000 unaccompanied children were detained at or around the US Border.
Mexican authorities confirm they apprehended more than 16,000 of these migrant children and youngsters. Thirty thousand families of undocumented migrants were also discovered in this region.
Most come from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which are ravaged by extreme poverty and criminal gangs which recruit by force, and indoctrinate children as young as eight.
Those children who refuse to obey are often murdered. These three countries have some of the worst homicide rates in the world.
Non-governmental organizations estimate that as many as 20,000 Central American would be migrants annually vanish in Mexico on their way to their so called 'El Dorado'.
They're often abducted by drug cartels and criminal gangs. And then there's the option of their families paying a ransom, them joining the cartel, or death.
Manila, Philippines, Aug 23, 2016 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Amid President Rodrigo Duterte's fierce war against the underworld of drugs in the Philippines, the country's bishops are rallying with a pastoral appeal to end unjust violence while encouraging efforts to maintain law and order.“We are disturbed by an increasing number of reports of suspected drug-peddlers, pushers and others about whom reports of criminal activity have been received, have been shot, supposedly because they resist arrest,” stated a recent press release from the Bishops Conference of the Philippines.“It is equally disturbing that vigilantism seems to be on the rise,” the bishops continued, noting the increasing number of murders portrayed in the media. Since his election in May, President Duterte has handed out death sentences to drug dealers in an effort to end the illegal drug culture in the Philippines. Although over 600,000 dealers have already turned themselves i...
Manila, Philippines, Aug 23, 2016 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Amid President Rodrigo Duterte's fierce war against the underworld of drugs in the Philippines, the country's bishops are rallying with a pastoral appeal to end unjust violence while encouraging efforts to maintain law and order.
“We are disturbed by an increasing number of reports of suspected drug-peddlers, pushers and others about whom reports of criminal activity have been received, have been shot, supposedly because they resist arrest,” stated a recent press release from the Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
“It is equally disturbing that vigilantism seems to be on the rise,” the bishops continued, noting the increasing number of murders portrayed in the media.
Since his election in May, President Duterte has handed out death sentences to drug dealers in an effort to end the illegal drug culture in the Philippines. Although over 600,000 dealers have already turned themselves in since the campaign, these efforts have also resulted in police brutality on the streets of Manila.
Stories such as the one of Renato and Jaypee Bertes are not uncommon tales.
The New York Times reported on the Filipino father-son duo who smoked shabu, a common type of methamphetamine, and occasionally sold the drug on the streets of Manila. When police barged into their home and arrested the two men, they were beaten, tortured and eventually shot to death while in police custody.
According to the New York Times, over 1,800 people have been similarly killed at the hands of police or vigilantes over the past three months. Alarmed by the number of killings, Filipino bishops have spoken out against the violence and have called for true justice from members of law enforcement.
“To kill a suspect outright, no matter how much surveillance work may have antecedently been done on the suspect, is not morally justified,” the bishops stated.
Although President Duterte has stated that addicts are “no longer viable as human beings on this planet,” the bishops underscored the dignity of every person, saying “God never gave up on us. We have no right giving up on ourselves or on our brothers and sisters.”
In light of the killings, the bishops offered guidelines for members of law enforcement to follow. First, they said that killing in self-defense is a legitimate and morally permissible action. However, they denounced killing on the grounds of suspicion, saying that “suspicion is never the moral equivalent of certainty,” and it could not be morally justified.
“Let no one ever raise his hand against his brother or sister, from the blood that is shed – even if it be the blood of one we suspect of crime – cries to heaven for justice!” the bishops said.
The bishops conference also noted that receiving monetary gain for killing, in the case of some vigilantes, is always wrong and should immediately stop. They asked citizens to report unlawful killing and any vigilante activity.
“It is the moral duty of every Catholic, every Christian, in fact, to report all forms of vigilantism of which they have personal knowledge,” the bishops stated.
Although the bishops decried the acts of violence committed against drug dealers in the Philippines, they highlighted their hopes that criminal activity would end and voiced their support of true justice at the hands of law enforcement.
“We understand the difficulties that law-enforcers face, the daily risk to life and limb, but not only civil society but also the Church counts on them for the flourishing of society,” the bishops said.
“Members of the community – Christians especially - should not be too quick to point accusing fingers at law enforcers, prosecutors and judges,” they continued.
The bishops were hopeful that harmony between citizens and government could be restored, and urged those in power to use their influential positions for good.
“We beg our prosecutors and judges to remain firm in their consecration to justice, for there can be no greater insult to the Creator than to use the gifts of intelligence, discernment and one’s success at legal studies for ends contrary to building the Body of Christ."
NEW YORK (AP) -- Take that, Pokemon. On Sunday, the Japanese prime minister turned up at the Olympics closing ceremonies to promote the 2020 Tokyo games dressed up as Mario , the eponymous hero of the popular video game series created in 1985....
BOSTON (AP) -- Cities are increasingly changing bike lanes to make them safer in light of fatal crashes involving cyclists and cars....
GANSBAAI, South Africa (AP) -- On the edge of a boat off this coastal village, Michael Rutzen stubs his cigarette into a soda can and stares pensively out to sea....
CHICAGO (AP) -- There are no bomb blasts or collisions with burly linemen in Susan Contreras' past. Her headaches, memory loss and bouts of confused thinking were a mystery until doctors suggested a probable cause: domestic violence....
DIBAGA CAMP, Iraq (AP) -- As the Islamic State group loses ground in Iraq, the militants are showing strains in their rule over areas they still control, growing more brutal, killing deserters and relying on younger and younger recruits, according to residents who fled battleground territories....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is making his first visit to flood-ravaged southern Louisiana as he attempts to assure the many thousands who have suffered damage to their homes, schools and businesses that his administration has made their recovery a priority....
