Monday, July 14, 2014

Five Things To Remember on July 14

1. Numbers tell it all. Said Cokie Roberts yesterday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos": "I heard a report this week that in New York your chances of getting murdered are 1 in 25,000. In Honduras, it's 1 in 14. You can't send children home to that." 2. Catholic News Service reports from Honduras that bishops from five countries are calling on Catholics, politicians and society at large to confront the issues causing a flow of unaccompanied minors from Central America -- and to care for them as they travel through Mexico and arrive at the U.S. border. "Bishops and their workers reiterate the urgency of respecting human dignity of the undocumented migrants, strengthening governmental institutions ... firmly combating the reprehensible activity of illegal groups and organized crime ... and investing in Central America," the bishops' conferences of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States said in a July 10 statement. "We call on business leaders, especially Catholics, to invest and contribute to the promotion of justice and equality. We exhort parents to not expose their children to the dangers of the dangerous journey toward Mexico and the United States. And we ask society to in general to assume their rightful roles." 3. Pope Francis prayed at his Sunday Angelus address yesterday for peace in the Holy Land, where fighting has escalated in recent days. "I urge the parties concerned and all those who have political responsibility at local and international levels to spare a prayer and make some effort to put an end to all hostilities and to achieve the desired peace for the good of all," he said. Then he prayed: "Now, Lord, help us! Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide us toward peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: 'Never again war!' and noted "Everything is destroyed by war..." 4. Today is the feast of the North American saint Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk Indian whose shrine is in Auriesville, New York. Known as the "Lily of the Mohawks," she faced rejection by her family and tribe when she converted to Catholicism and died a martyr when she was 24. 5. God loves you.

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