by Joséphine Kabambi

It's September and Pope Francis has recently arrived in the United States. Between the Secret Service’s Pope blockade in Philadelphia’s Center City, confusion and frustration about SEPTA transportation service, and the growing appeal of skipping town altogether, the Pope's visit to Philadelphia has certainly given us much to talk about. But as a Christian and dedicated Pope watcher working at an abortion access organization in Philadelphia, I can't help but notice that the Pope's visit coincides almost exactly with the 39th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, a federal legislative provision voted on yearly which denies low-income women coverage for abortion. Although Pope Francis himself has maintained an anti-abortion stance, his calls to challenge systems of oppression that perpetuate economic inequality have felt both refreshing and relevant to my work.

by Shannen Dee Williams, Ph.D.

On Monday, December 8, 2014, a small group of U.S. Catholic theologians from St. Louis University, Loyola University New Orleans, the University of Dayton, and Marquette University released a statement calling for police reform and racial justice in America in the wake of the ever-expanding “Black Lives Matter” movement.

The remains of a Baltimore nun, who started the world’s first black Catholic Order, have moved to Our Lady of Mount Providence Church as one of the first steps in potential sainthood.

According to “1st Order of African American Nuns Pray Its Founder Will Be Made Saint” for CBS Baltimore, the Oblate Sisters of Providence welcomed the remains of their founder, Mother Mary Lange, to their home church from a cemetery in Baltimore.

Lange was born Elizabeth Clarisse Lange circa 1784 in Cuba. In the early 1800’s, Lange moved to Baltimore, Maryland, a safe haven for Catholics, to be with fellow French-Speaking Catholic Refugees. Upon moving to the United States, Lange recognized the need of education among refugee children of color, and on July 2nd, 1829 Lange along with three other women founded the order. The Sisters while educating the youth, provided homes for orphans, sheltered the elderly and took care of the terminally ill. The order also found St. Frances Academy, which is still in operation today.