Two U.S. Catholic bishops are lamenting recent deadly immigration enforcement encounters, calling for God-given human dignity to be respected in every individual. “As Catholics, we believe that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, grieve all situations where human life is brought to an unnatural end. This is a…
For decades, the U.S. Department of State gave money to groups protecting free speech, human rights and persecuted minorities in poor and authoritarian countries. To decide what to fund, staffers with deep expertise typically pored over reams of information on abuses under the most repressive regimes and held an open competition to fund groups to…
It also said two Bolivian child victims who were forced to work in a grocery store were rescued by Argentinian police, with arrests made. Separately, Belgian authorities arrested 17 suspects after dismantling a trafficking network that allegedly held victims recruited via social media captive, and forced them into prostitution rings across Belgium and France. The…
In a memo to all Department of Justice employees, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced today the establishment of a single National Coordinator to lead the fight against child exploitation and human trafficking, with the goal of preventing, prosecuting, and ending human trafficking and child exploitation in America. Acting Attorney General Blanche appointed Alessandra Serano…
LAS PALMAS, Spain (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV delivered a heartfelt speech addressing migrants on Thursday (June 11), reminding them of their worth and dignity even as they suffer at the hands of traffickers and mafias. He also spoke directly to the church and states — especially in Europe — underlining their duty to promote…
Pope Leo XIV urged half a million young people gathered in Madrid June 6 to reject superficiality and become “men and women of flesh and blood,” telling them that the mission he entrusts to them is simply to “be human.” “The mission I entrust to you is precisely this: that you be human,” the pope…
Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics. The prospect has fueled controversy for years. On the one hand, the technology might one day enable parents to safely repair disease-causing mutations in embryos. But it…
Until recently, we humans have been able to be smug about our abilities. No other animals play boardgames, write essays or prove mathematical theorems. But lately, progress in AI seems as though it might challenge our self-image as the smartest entities around. AI systems not only beat us at the most complicated games, but can…
J. Craig Venter, a scientist and entrepreneur who raced to decode the human genome, died on Wednesday in San Diego. He was 79. His death was announced by the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit research organization founded by Dr. Venter and based in San Diego and Rockville, Md. The institute said in a statement…
How fast do you have to strike a match to get it to light? Not the chemistry of the ignition, but the actual speed, in metres per second, that the little piece of wood and its bulbous head have to move to spark the chain reaction behind the flame. It was a question born of…
