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The Real Immigration Crisis is Not at the Border

Real Needs, Not Fictitious Crises Account for the Situation at US-Mexico Border by Donald Kerwin, Center for Immigration Studies  

A Work of Mercy and a Labor of Love: Houston Catholic Worker Newspaper

  Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are glad that we have been able to put out the Houston Catholic Worker paper every quarter. Whether we are at Casa Juan Diego or miles apart, we know there are deadlines and long hours to make sure everything we have chosen for an issue belongs in the issue and… continue reading

A Vaccine for the Heart

by Dawn McCarty, Ph.D., LMSW These days at Casa Juan Diego feel like being in a pressure cooker. Those of us who work and live in one of our houses of hospitality have mostly escaped direct harm from the virus; we adhere to and strictly enforce CDC guidelines and trust in God while we wait… continue reading

A New Beginning in Uncertain Times at Casa Juan Diego

Anne joined Casa Juan Diego as a Catholic Worker at Casa Juan Diego on August 1, 202,0 after her graduation from St. Mary’s College in Indiana. I was welcomed at Casa Juan Diego with the simple instructions given by Louise Zwick to all new Catholic Workers upon arrival: ring the doorbell when you’re here. When… continue reading

Fratelli Tutti, New Encyclical of Pope Francis

“FRATELLI TUTTI With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavor of the Gospel.” Thus begins the third encyclical of Pope Francis, with words that could change all of our lives if we take them to heart.  Pope Francis teaches… continue reading

Catholic Social Teaching, Matthew 25 and Land Reform: Blood in the Fields and In the Streets

 “In the eschatological parable of the sheep and the goats, Christ identifies so closely with the hunger, thirst, homelessness, nakedness, sickness, and imprisonment of others that he takes on their afflictions and they become his own.” (Blood in the Fields, p. 206) The demonstrations and protests of 2020 in response to the death of George… continue reading

The Devastating Effects of Immigration Detention

In 2013, early in his papacy, Pope Francis’s first trip outside Rome was to minister to the immigrants who were in detention on the island of Lampedusa.  There he famously decried the “culture of indifference” which allows the world to ignore the sufferings of migrants and refugees, and instead he called for a culture of… continue reading

Dorothy Day at Koinonia Farm

  “I have not yet resisted unto blood,” Dorothy Day commented, after surviving a drive-by shooting at Koinonia Farm. She had endured many hardships–jeers, threats, and insults, being shoved into paddy wagons and jailed–but her acts of protest against war and social injustice had never put her life at risk. She had never been shot… continue reading

Love in Action at Casa Juan Diego During COVID-19

Weeks before the formal stay at home orders were issued, we were planning as best we could to take care of our guests and the many community members we serve. Casa Juan Diego is a literal hive of activity throughout the day, with constant interaction of staff with both guests and community. We have on… continue reading

Open Letter To My Friends: Reflections on the Death of George Floyd

In the last few months, I’ve had to have conversations with my kids about things I shouldn’t have to. They have asked questions about why black people seem to have been hated by other races from what they’ve been learning.    I need to get something off my chest. Please oblige me.   Let me… continue reading