Our NEWS page is designed to help people engage in the work of social charity. The first step of this engagement is awareness of what is transpiring in society. Check here weekly for updates on local, national and international issues.

Catholic Health Associations Launch Tool to Assess

Health Care Reform Plans

For those who would like to judge for themselves how a particular health reform proposal measures up — whether it comes from a member of Congress, a nonprofit organization or a candidate for office — CHA offers a useful “health reform study tool.” Try it out yourself here.

Pope Benedict XVI Calls For Humanitarian Corridors in Georgia

Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to establish humanitarian corridors in Georgia so that the dead can be buried, the wounded can receive medical help and refugees can return home.
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Catholic Relief Services Preparing Response in Georgia

As fighting rages in Georgia’s separatist South Ossetia region, estimates are that 1,500 people have died. Thousands have been wounded and many are fleeing. Catholic Relief Services’ staff in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi is now assessing needs and readying CRS’ response.

“It’s heartbreaking,” says Kellie Hynes, Head of Office for CRS Georgia about the casualties and the continuing violence. “There is movement by car and on foot from Gori. Everyone is coming out of the area.”

Because the hospital sector is most in need of assistance, CRS is arranging to dispatch its Cairo-based medical staffer to Tbilisi. CRS Georgia will also work with established local church partners to identify the greatest needs of displaced people.

“Despite the rapidly growing insecurity, our team is safe and is working on helping the innocent victims of the violence,” says Mark Schnellbaecher, Regional Director for Europe and the Middle East.

Fighting Poverty with Faith: A Week of Action

From September 10-16, 2008 people of faith across the country will be mobilizing their communities to ask their local, state and national candidates what they will do to address the pressing issues of poverty and opportunity in America in their first 100 days in office.

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Sudanese Refugee Raises Awareness at Olympics

Lopez Lomong, a 23-year-old competitor in the 1,500-meter race, will lead the U.S. Olympic team as the flagbearer. Teammates chose him Wednesday, the U.S. Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Lomong is a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes committed to raising awareness about chronic violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

He was among roughly 3,800 refugees, dubbed the Lost Boys of Sudan by reporters and aid workers, who were resettled in cities across the United States.

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Orphans of the Rwanda Genocide

All the truth must be revealed. Things must be written in books so that the genocide would never be forgotten. People must be buried in a good way. Photos should be shown to show how our dears ones were killed. They should put songs of mourning on the local radio in order to remember our beloved who were killed. We have to tell to our children what happened, the bones must
be well kept and everybody, even those from very far must see that, so that the genocide will never happen again.

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Orphans of the Rwanda Genocide: Portraits of Survival & Hope

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Los Angeles, CA

July-October 2008

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Seattle man nearing death opposes state's assisted suicide initiative
SEATTLE (CNS) -- John Peyton doesn't have long to live. Earlier this summer, his doctor gave him three to six months. The 64-year-old retired computer programmer has an unusually aggressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In the months since last November when he first had trouble lifting a hammer over his head, he has gone from healthy and active to completely paralyzed, struggling to breathe with a ventilator. The disease has made him totally dependent on his wife of 40 years, Patricia. She dresses him, feeds him, even shifts his body in the living room recliner where he now spends his days. Peyton's once-strong voice is fading fast; soon it will go altogether. But while he still has it, Peyton is using it to proclaim the intrinsic value and sanctity of every human life at every stage, in every condition. He has spent his final months opposing Initiative 1000, called the Death With Dignity Act, which will be on the Nov. 4 ballot in Washington state. If passed, it would legalize physician-assisted suicide.

Read More About Initiative 1000

Is There a Food Crisis?

Learn about the issues presented by the rising cost of food both here and throughout the world.

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Record Heat Affects Homeless Populations

Phoenix officials hope to collect 200,000 bottles of water this summer to save the lives of homeless, elderly and people with disabilities during extreme summer weather.

Last year, hydration stations and heat respite centers distributed nearly 133,000 bottles of water.

If you are interested in donating water or providing a safe haven from the heat at your church or community center, contact Becky Franco, 602-261-8806 or

e-mail, Rebecca.franco@phoenix.gov.

Thirty-seven million Americans live in poverty. You can help.

Help Catholic Charities USA spread the word about the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by endorsing the Campaign yourself and then encouraging others in your community to do the same. Ask them to lend their voices today to this important effort and join the thousands of Americans across the country who are joining the Campaign and working together to reduce poverty in our nation!