Five Things To Remember On March 27

1. Pope Francis met with President Obama today at the Vatican. While the meeting was private, the Vatican released a statement on the nature of the meeting soon after. The president gave the pontiff several gifts, including one connected to America's oldest cathedral.

2. At a meeting on March 13, the USCCB's Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America approved funding for 127 projects, totaling over $1.7 million. The funds will be disbursed as grants to aid the pastoral work of the Church in the Caribbean and Latin American region.

3. The Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 1410) is a “modest first step in reforming our nation’s broken sentencing policies,” said the chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the president of Catholic Charities USA in a March 27 letter to the U.S. Senate supporting the bill.

4. Catholics are called to seek ways to work with their dioceses and communities to combat human trafficking. This can be done through prayer, education, and responsible consumerism. They're being encouraged to visit www.usccb.org/shepherd to help educate their parish and community about human trafficking.The toolkit is now available in both English and Spanish.

5. God loves you.