BALTIMORE – In a letter read Nov. 14 during the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the chairman of the bishops' Committee on Migration, Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, called on President-elect Donald Trump "to continue to protect the inherent dignity of refugees and migrants."

TORONTO – When Elizabeth Carrillo was five, she arrived in Canada with her mother, at the time pregnant with her son Brian. The FCJ Refugee Centre literally became the family’s home.

WASHINGTON – Talk in the U.S. presidential campaign about restricting entry of Muslims into the United States has some religious leaders concerned that the country's religious liberty heritage is under threat.

ONTREAL – Seated in a quiet room, the Melkite Catholic archbishop of Aleppo, Syria, spoke slowly, in an almost muffled voice. His eyes sometimes ran astray, lingering on the buildings across the street in downtown Montreal. He detailed how Fouad Banna's family was torn apart when their house was destroyed by an attack a few months ago.

MONTREAL – Vocations to the priesthood may be lagging in North America and Europe, but the ranks of Scalabrinian priests are swelling in other parts of the world, according to Fr. Joseph Fugolo.

Retired lawyer Bob Doherty has no illusions about becoming fluent in Arabic but he’s taking a language course at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in order to ease the transition for the Syrian refugee family his parish will soon welcome.

OTTAWA - The federal government announced Feb. 18 it will be restoring health care for all refugees seeking a new life in Canada.

EL PASO, Texas - The supposed political hues of Pope Francis' visit to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, recently raised by a U.S. presidential candidate and media coverage of those remarks came up during a news conference with Catholic officials in El Paso today.

The federal government has rewritten its timeline to bring 25,000 refugees to Canada this year and acknowledges that to resettle them here by the end of February is an enormous challenge.

TORONTO - Changes to Canada’s Live-in Caregiver’s Program (LCP) promised to improve the immigration path have actually made things worse, says Kristina Torres.

More than 100 U.S. Roman Catholic leaders are using this week’s annual march against legal abortion to press anti-abortion House members to pass immigration reform, saying they should see it as another “pro-life” issue.

OXFORD, England - German Church leaders have criticized an anti-Islamic movement that staged mass demonstrations in Dresden and other cities, but they also urged a better understanding of public fears.

Four months after its health care policy for refugee claimants was ruled unconstitutional, Ottawa has grudgingly relented to a judge’s order and returned many — but not all — benefits to the needy people it had previously abandoned. We say grudgingly because the immigration minister remains determined to continue a court battle in defence of a policy that a federal court has already — and quite rightly — denounced as “cruel and unusual.” 

Sam is a refugee from Pakistan and a cancer survivor thanks to Church fundraisers and the generosity of doctors and hospitals working for free. He said he thanked God when the Federal Court ruled on July 4 that he is now entitled to health coverage from the federal government.

VATICAN CITY - The tragic deaths of thousands of men, women and children who die while searching for a better future should trigger compassion and action, not indifference, Pope Francis said.