In this 1993 piece, James Martin reflects on the realities of refugees he met in Thika, Kenya.

“The church cannot withdraw from the field of charity.”

Catholic social teaching proclaims all life is sacred and that the morality of a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members.

The four churchwomen chose to stay and to suffer, as St. Romero had once said, “the same fate as the poor.”

Guaranteeing justice for all men and women is not possible while a few people control most of the world’s wealth and everyone else’s right to a dignified life is disregarded, Pope Francis said.

Chuck Feeney donated the last of his fortune this year, writes Mary Beth Powers of the Catholic Medical Mission Board, and set an example for others to act now rather than later.