In my work as a journalist, I try to personalize what is otherwise an ‘issue’ and apply universal principles of human rights to policies that impact human lives. That’s the case for many national and global news stories, breaking and current or ongoing. When President Donald Trump issued the Executive Order on immigration and refugees […]
The village of Kaa is in the north of the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border. It has a population of some 13,000 Christians, most of them Melkites. After the city of Zahle, this is the home of the country’s the largest Catholic population. Kaa is surrounded by mostly Shiite Muslim communities. Kaa has […]
It’s only a week now until Pope Francis sets out on his trip to the Middle East. Father Khalil Jaar is already excited. “I was asked whether I could organize two buses of refugees for a meeting with the Holy Father,” the priest of the Latin Patriarchate said proudly. “I didn’t have to think about it […]
Just recently, Pope Francis said that the Church should be a “field hospital.” In the Central African Republic, this is now everyday routine. Thousands of people have sought shelter in the mission stations and monasteries. The Carmelite monastery in the capital Bangui has also been turned into a refugee camp. Normally the monastery is a […]
The question stared back at me from the email sent by a nurses’ professional group where I hold membership. I read it on a wet, dreary morning as I fretted about having to go to work. I wondered aloud when I would ever win the lottery. Still feeling sorry that I wasn’t an instant millionaire […]
