Politics & Policy

Earlier this month a Somali man, Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, was accused of leading a human smuggling ring that brought East Africans, including Somalis with ties to terror groups.

Terrorist may try to cross into U.S. through Texas

By Greg Goodsell • Catholic Online • 5/28/2010

Texas authorities have been alerted to the possibility of a member of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terrorist group who may try to enter the U.S. through Mexico. An indictment unsealed this month in Texas federal court accuses a Somali man in Texas of running a smuggling operation that brings ...

'The regulation of our borders and the immigration that occurs by crossing our borders is something that is inherently something I believe for the national government to take responsibility for,' Attorney General Eric Holder says.

Attorneys recommend that new immigration law be challenged

By Greg Goodsell • Catholic Online • 5/26/2010

A team of Justice Department attorneys reviewing the tough new immigration law in Arizona has recommended that the U.S. government challenge the law in federal court. According to Fox News, the recommendation faces an uncertain future and tough scrutiny from others in the Justice Department. LOS ...

Officials say the National Guard troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and support efforts to block drug trafficking.

National Guard troops ordered to U.S. - Mexico border

By Greg Goodsell • Catholic Online • 5/26/2010

President Barack Obama has ordered 1,200 National Guard troops along the U.S. - Mexico border. The move is seen as a pre-emptive one, before Republicans try to force a vote on such a deployment. In addition, the president will request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement ...

Feds Demand Court Toss Virginia Lawsuit Against Health Care Law

By Peter J. Smith • LifeSiteNews • 5/26/2010

HHS Secretary Sebelius argued that Congress was well within its rights to impose a national health insurance mandate under the interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and said Virginia and other states could not "manufacture its own standing to challenge a federal law by simple ...

The bishops who lead the respective committees on pro-life advocacy, justice and human development, and migration released a statement Thursday called 'Setting the Record Straight.'

U.S. Bishops Ready For A New Health Care Fight: Set the Record Straight on Teaching

Zenit News Agency • 5/26/2010

Our clear and consistent position has been misrepresented, misunderstood and misused for political and other purposes. Our right to speak in the public forum has been questioned. Our teaching role within the Catholic Church and even our responsibility to lead the Church have come under criticism." ...

ADF attorneys argue that the program--which allows state residents to claim a tax credit for donations to private organizations that provide scholarships to private schools--is constitutional because it involves individual, private choices and funding, not government action or money.

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Arizona School Choice Suit

Alliance Defense Fund • 5/26/2010

ADF attorneys argue that the program--which allows state residents to claim a tax credit for donations to private organizations that provide scholarships to private schools--is constitutional because it involves individual, private choices and funding, not government action or money. Parents should ...

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Guest Opinion: Can the Bishops Fix the Health Care Bill?

By Deal W. Hudson, Ph.D. • Inside Catholic • 5/25/2010

Cardinal DiNardo also addresses the issue of Obama's March 21 executive order supposedly prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortion. His eminence rightly points out that an executive order cannot override the legal authority of either the federal courts or congressional statute. In other ...

Catholic Bishops: CHA Wounded Church Unity with Health Care Endorsement

Catholic News Agency • 5/25/2010

Those who made moral judgments about the bill for Catholics undermined the bishops teaching authority, and that, "is first of all the task of the bishops, not of any other group or individual," they insisted. The push for the passage of the health care reform bill saw efforts made by the social ...

Pope Benedict XVI: We Need Authentically Christian Politicians

Vatican Information Service • 5/21/2010

The Pope said that although the "technical formation of politicians" is not part of the Church's mission, she reserves the right to "pass moral judgment in those matters which regard public order when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls require it.It is up to the lay ...

Rand Paul criticized the Obama administration for declaring it will put its 'boot heel on the throat of BP.'

Tea Party candidate calls BP criticism 'un-American'

By Greg Goodsell • Catholic Online • 5/21/2010

Kentucky Republican Senate candidate and Tea Party favorite Rand Paul called U.S. President Barack Obama's denouncement of oil company BP as "really un-American." In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America," Paul says the president's criticism of the company responsible for the massive oil ...