Search Results (57)

This conceptual paper analyzes the effects of Donald Trump’s 2025 authoritarian regime on refugees, the US Refugee Admissions Program, and resettlement. The second Trump presidency resumed his first term’s attempt (2017–2021) at seizing power. This time, his regime launched a more sophisticated authoritarian plan to destroy the US. His 2025 term is consolidating power in the president to target all forms of migration to the US, including dismantling the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) through executive overreach, circumventing statutory refugee procedures, violating human and civil rights, and disregarding judicial constraints. On 20 January 2025, he used Executive Order 14163, “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” to indefinitely suspend the admission and resettlement of refugees for 90 days. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis, with national interest and plans for a white nationalist state driving the decision. Refugees at any phase of the vetting process will be denied entry. Simultaneously, Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” was signed on 20 January 2025, to pause the US dissemination of foreign aid for 90 days. Resumption would depend on a review determining foreign assistance alignment with national interests. The implementation of Executive Order 14169 further dismantled the USRAP infrastructure by stripping federal agencies of personnel and budgets that support resettled refugees through a “stop work order” issued by the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) on 24 January 2025. Refugee resettlement agencies, non-profits, and faith-based organizations are vital to welcoming and assisting refugees as they adjust to their new lives. These critical organizations are now struggling to provide services to resettled refugees. Additionally, escalated, arbitrary, racially profiled deportations of alleged criminal undocumented immigrants have increased anxiety and fear among resettled refugee communities. Subsequently, the Trump administration’s indefinite suspension of the USRAP, effective from 2025 to 2028 and beyond, will impact refugees, their families, and the resettlement network. Truly, the survival of the USRAP depends on an administration that upholds the Constitution, democratic values, and the significance of US diplomatic global leadership, replacing this regime. Full article

Background/Objectives: Cancer remains a major public health concern in India, with the Northeast Region (NER) reporting the country’s highest incidence rates. In Meghalaya, a predominantly tribal state, cultural beliefs, financial hardship, and limited healthcare access significantly affect cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes. This study explores the experiences and needs of cancer patients in Meghalaya, India, to inform culturally sensitive, patient-centred, and financially inclusive approaches to cancer care among tribal populations. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among 19 participants (12 patients and 7 caregivers; in cases where patients were unable to communicate effectively due to physical weakness or treatment-related complications, their primary caregivers, those directly linked to the specific patients, were interviewed instead) receiving treatment at Civil Hospital, Shillong, between August and November 2023. In-depth interviews were conducted in Khasi, translated into English, and analysed thematically following COREQ guidelines. Results: Ten key themes emerged. Patients often attributed early symptoms to supernatural causes and sought traditional healers, delaying diagnosis. Many experienced fragmented care pathways, misinformation, and fear of treatment side effects. The financial burden was severe, with high out-of-pocket costs for travel, diagnostics, and medicines, despite partial relief through the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme. Communication about costs between patients and providers was limited, leaving families unprepared for the expenses. Emotional distress, loss of livelihood, and dependence on family support were common, while faith and spirituality served as major coping mechanisms. Conclusions: Cancer care in Meghalaya is shaped by intertwined cultural, economic, and systemic barriers. Strengthening culturally tailored health education, decentralised diagnostic services, structured financial counselling, and cost transparency can improve care delivery. Future research should adopt multi-centre, longitudinal approaches to guide equitable, patient-centred cancer policies in tribal and rural settings. Full article

In the context of an increasingly hostile national political environment and federal cuts to refugee resettlement programs in the United States, advocates often highlight the economic contributions of immigrants and refugees to garner local support, especially in regions with histories of economic and population decline. While these narratives continue to be a centerpiece of pro-immigrant and -refugee advocacy, in practice advocates and refugees themselves use a diverse set of frames to promote belonging. In this paper, we examine pro-refugee advocacy frames in a small, nontraditional destination in the Midwest. We draw on survey and focus group research with young adult refugees and nonprofit advocates and content analysis of online stories about refugees. We found that pro-refugee values frames (humanitarian and faith-based) and contributions frames (economic, cultural and civic) coexisted across the local landscape and were used by not only nonprofit advocates and local officials, but also by refugees themselves. While advocacy groups emphasized the dominant frame highlighting refugees’ economic contributions, they were also strategic in using overlapping frames to highlight a less public frame, refugees’ contributions to civic engagement through community service and volunteering. Advocates tended to reproduce the economic contributions frame to appeal to key stakeholders, which consequently obscures refugees’ diverse contributions, but we argue that refugee self-advocates’ use of the civic engagement frame pushes back against economic and other frames that limit their contributions and helps them to create spaces of belonging. Full article

Manuscript 50 (46) from the library of the monastery of Putna contains a text entitled “Discourse on the appropriate manner of standing in the church.” The first part explains the Eucharistic liturgy, from the vesting of the priest to the moment before the epiclesis. The service is dramatized as an interaction between the priest and an angel of God, who later enters a battle with a demon that distracts the congregation. The second part of the text consists of the vision of the monk who lost his faith in the Eucharist. At the prayers of the community, he receives a revelation of the reality of the liturgical mystery, in which he is shown a child slaughtered on the altar table. The visionary text in the first section is part of a tradition attested in the Slavonic environment of the Balkans, which later became popular in the Russian world. These Slavonic versions are based on a similar visionary text attested in Greek manuscripts, but the similarities are only partial. The present study places the text from the Putna manuscript in relation to the iconography of the liturgical space and highlights the relevance of this type of literature for understanding the local monastic culture. Full article

This article presents a theological framework of a Theology of Living, which seeks to reimagine the task of theology as a lived, communal and practical enterprise. Departing from purely systematic or disembodied approaches, this theology emphasises the relational and contextual dimensions of Christian faith. The embedded nature of theology acknowledges that theological reflection is always situated within particular histories, cultures and communities. The deliberative dimension foregrounds the necessity of intentional, dialogical discernment in response to complex moral and spiritual challenges. The embodied aspect affirms that theology is not merely spoken or written, but enacted through the rhythms of everyday life, worship and service. Drawing upon pastoral experience, biblical reflection and theological discourse, this article proposes that such an integrated approach to theology not only bridges the gap between doctrine and practice but also reclaims theology’s vocational role in forming individuals and communities shaped by love, justice and hope. Full article

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are widely implemented as nature-based solutions for delivering essential ecosystem services such as water purification, carbon sequestration, and habitat provision. However, biodiversity monitoring within CWs remains limited and unevenly integrated into performance evaluations. This scoping review analyzed 76 peer-reviewed studies to assess current methods for biodiversity monitoring, explore linkages to ecosystem functions, and examine the diversity indices most frequently applied. Results revealed a predominant focus on microbial communities, primarily assessed through high-throughput sequencing and general ecological indices such as the Shannon–Wiener Diversity Index and Chao1 Richness Estimator, with limited taxonomic depth or functional specificity. Plant and animal biodiversity were addressed less frequently and were rarely linked to treatment outcomes or ecosystem services beyond regulation. Vertical subsurface flow systems were the most studied configuration, particularly in lab-scale studies, while free water surface systems exhibited greater microbial phylum richness. These findings highlight a critical need for CW-specific biodiversity monitoring frameworks that integrate microbial, plant, and faunal assessments using functionally relevant phylogenetic indices such as Rao’s Quadratic Entropy and Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity. Emphasis on standardization, trait-based analyses, and mechanistic approaches is essential for enhancing ecological interpretation and ensuring biodiversity is recognized as a central component of CW design, performance, and resilience. Full article

The management of laicity in Mexico, legally and politically, is a federal issue that involves regulating the activities of Churches and religious communities in the public space, in their practices, rituals, and relations with the organs of the state. However, in recent years, the growing presence and activity of Churches at the local level has called into question the need to observe how laicity is managed by subnational governments, both state and municipal. Are there mechanisms at the local level to regulate the presence of religion in the public space? How are religious traditions presented as culturally managed? What are the demands of Churches on local authorities and what is their political relationship with them? How is the demand for religious freedom resolved locally without violating citizens’ other freedoms, such as the freedom of conscience in issues such as education, health, traffic, and freedom of expression? All this has put into perspective whether laicity and the secular state should continue to be a national dimension or whether it is necessary to rethink legal and political forms at the local level, building new frameworks of governance and governability. This text reviews the public management of laicity in eight entities of the country, which in turn is representative of the rest of the entities with their local variations. However, they generally move in the constant dimensions of religious diversity, interreligious councils, offices, or those in charge of religious affairs, and levels of municipal participation. The construction of a new laicity is then proposed, which does not exclude religion from the public agenda but rather a new secular perspective on the participation of religious communities in public affairs. From a Latin American perspective, Mexico is seen as an effective government regime that separates religion from politics, restricting the participation of religious organizations in the public agenda. However, at the local level, this regime is changing with the inclusion of faith-based organizations in politics. This will undoubtedly lead to a change in the historical concept, a reference point in the region. The term management of laicity refers to the regulation and administration of governments (services, legal support, spaces, and dialogues) with religious communities. Management (control, regulation, permits, sanctions, and recognition) is defined by law and in public policy towards religion from the federal government, but not in local governments that lack clear regulatory frameworks, intervention guidelines, and support, hence the emphasis on the term. Full article

This article outlines our plan to rebalance the patrimonial heritage from the sacred: a strategy of attention to the needs and social demands, both religious—primarily—and other kinds, of the inhabitants of these communities. Our plan provides an attentive and unprejudiced view of service that proposes new uses for structures of great patrimonial and sentimental value. These are complexes recognized by societies but incapable of being maintained without intervention, given that their use has greatly diminished in today’s society. All this must be considered while additional legitimate demands have arisen that do not find an adequate response in the same community. It is not a matter of competition but of an effective adaptation or a rebalancing through the reprogramming of some properties. We cannot forget that non-religious cultural and social demands also apply to the faithful. Being a believer does not exclude one from being a lover of music or museums. Full article

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant populations remained under-immunized due to limited access to health care, language barriers, and vaccine hesitancy. The USAID-funded MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity project supported the government in collaborating with various local health and non-health partners to identify and vaccinate migrants. This case study examines the roles of project partners and the strategies each entity implemented to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake among migrants, as well as the perceptions regarding the effectiveness of these strategies. Methods: We designed a qualitative explanatory case study guided by the Behavioral and Social Drivers framework and RE-AIM implementation science frameworks. We conducted 31 focus group discussions and 50 in-depth interviews with migrants, project partners, community leaders, and government stakeholders in Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Results: In both states, partnerships with health departments, private employers, and community-based organizations were essential for identifying and vaccinating un- and under-vaccinated migrant groups. In Tamil Nadu, collaboration with the Department of Labor and mobile medical units facilitated vaccination camps at construction sites. In Punjab, religious institutions organized sessions at places of worship, and the Border Security Force enabled health workers to reach migrants living near the border. In both states, key strategies—involving influencers to discuss the importance of vaccine safety and value, bringing vaccination services to migrants’ workplaces and homes at flexible times and mandating workplace vaccination to encourage vaccination—shifted perceptions towards vaccination and increased vaccine uptake among migrants. Conclusions: The strategies and partnerships identified in this study highlight the broader implications for future public health interventions, demonstrating that collaboration with the private sector and faith-based organizations can enhance routine immunization efforts, particularly when localized to organizations that understand community needs and can address specific barriers and motivators. Full article

Taking into consideration both of the statements of the Catholic magisterium and the pastoral environment of Catholic institutions, this essay offers some observations on the roots and objectives of interreligious dialogue. Framing dialogue in the faith experience of Christ as Lord allows the dialogue of life to emerge as a living expression of the way of life of every faithful Catholic. To live in Christ is the essence of being the Church. The mission of the Church is to proclaim the saving work and living presence of Christ. Christian spirituality is an intentional search for the fullness of Christ’s humanity so that the community at prayer can embody the Risen One under all circumstances. This “embodiment” necessarily includes encountering human “others”, diminishing the feeling of separateness, and discerning human conditions and possibilities for growth. To accomplish this task, Catholic Christians are invited to find Christ in all phenomena, including in other religions as disclosures of what it is to be human. To grow spiritually under the present circumstances of our communities, Catholics can begin to listen to hear the “voice” of the Good Shepherd wherever it resounds. In hearing the authentic ring of this voice of mercy and love, the community discerns that a previously “unknown” Christ is present before us, inviting a deepened understanding of Christ, both human and divine. Out of this understanding arises an affirmation of the Christologies of the historical Catholic consensus, now impelling the Church toward new forms of mission, service, and contemplation. This essay takes note of recent trends in Christology, suggesting correction courses for both progressive and traditionalist approaches. Full article

Background/Objectives: Access to palliative care is an urgent global need. Countries with the greatest palliative care needs have limited access. In Cameroon, demand for palliative care is growing due to the rising incidence of life-limiting conditions. Identifying available palliative care services and programs could provide an understanding of access gaps and inform future roadmaps for palliative care development in the country. We aim to map available palliative care services, identify gaps and inform recommendations to promote early access to palliative care in Cameroon. Methods: We undertook a literature review of articles reporting any aspects of palliative care in Cameroon. We searched Embase, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed and gray literature. Data were analyzed thematically using the World Health Organization model for the assessment of palliative care development. Results: We identified 41 articles reporting 21 organizations with some form of palliative care services such as clinical services, education, advocacy and research. These were led mostly by individual health care providers or private and faith-based organizations. Major palliative care initiatives included training in the form of workshops, and adult and pediatric outpatient, in-patient and community-based palliative care. There were few reports of oral morphine production, community engagement, advocacy and palliative care research. Conclusions: Progress in palliative care development was reported in five regions of Cameroon over the last two decades. Findings suggest the need for an intersectoral approach including government, community, and health care stakeholders to achieve sustainable palliative care. This could potentially ensure equitable access to palliative care in Cameroon. Full article

There has been a rise in Islamic schools in Australia, a trend similarly seen in other Western countries, and yet limited opportunities for teacher preparation on what it means to impart an Islamically grounded education. This study utilises qualitative research methods, specifically portraiture to shed light on the experiences of in-service Islamic school educators, with varied backgrounds and religious affiliations in a cohort of the Graduate Certificate in Education (Islamic Education) program in Australia. This faith-based teacher education program aims to foster “faithful praxis”, and recenter the Divine in teaching and learning. The research focused on analysing transformative affective shifts as reflected in the program’s final portfolios. Portraits of four participants reflect a reconceptualisation of education as a holistic process that aims to nurture the whole student: mind, body, and soul. The portraits also highlight awakening experiences that signify the role of reflexivity and self-reflection of the educator so that educational renewal is of the whole collective in the school community. Implications of this study signify the role of spirituality in teaching and learning and the importance of moving beyond conventional and secular models of teacher education programs. Full article

This article examines the way faith and Islamic values underpin the agency and work of Muslim women in providing domestic and family violence (DFV) support services. Focusing on the role and impact of Muslim Women Australia within the DFV space in the Australian context, this article demonstrates the way Muslim Women Australia utilises faith as a tool for empowerment. It illustrates the way that—despite governmental reforms that required transition from specialised to generalist DFV services—Muslim Women Australia, via their DFV service Linking Hearts, has maintained a strong commitment to providing culturally and religiously appropriate support. Drawing on fieldwork, this article explores the intersection of Muslim women’s agency, faith, and role as DFV service providers, to demonstrate the importance of culturally competent DFV support services within diverse communities. Through interviews with clients (victim-survivors) who accessed Linking Hearts services during the COVID-19 lockdowns, this article highlights the way the Islamic values of advocacy, agency, and dignity underscore the Linking Hearts model to effectively provide culturally and religiously competent support to all clients regardless of their personal beliefs and values. Full article

In recent decades, an anti-trafficking legislative and policy framework has been developed in Spain, coupled with the funding of initiatives related to the protection of trafficked persons, especially women, largely carried out by faith-based and secular organizations. Using 25 interviews conducted with people employed in programmes targeting trafficked women in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, this article provides deeper exploration of this under-studied subject with a view to gaining a better understanding of the work experiences of professionals involved in these initiatives, with special attention paid to the challenges they face in enacting anti-trafficking activities while avoiding producing violence on assisted persons. The experiences of these professionals highlight that the neoliberal outsourcing of services to non-governmental organizations nevertheless contributes towards making anti-trafficking an apparatus in which violence materializes and reproduces. Significantly, this violence involves not only the people who are being assisted as trafficking victims but also some anti-trafficking professionals. Full article

As shown by sociological studies, the Catholic Church in Italy is very active in conducting advocacy and providing political representation to immigrants. It is also highly effective in carrying out services for immigrants, as well as fairly receptive to sharing places of worship with them. However, these sociological observations have been mainly conducted at the national level rather than by exploring the life of parishes through an empirical lens. This article aims, by applying the congregations study methodology, to fill this gap by detecting faith communities as the basic social units of religious life at the city/country level. In doing that, we discuss quantitative data collected in 377 Catholic parishes in the cities of Bologna, Milan, and Brescia. The findings suggest that Catholic parishes: (i) illustrate a low proportion of immigrants in their communities; (ii) show high activity in providing services for immigrants; (iii) are not politically engaged in advocacy for foreign persons at the local level; and (iv) similarly position themselves as politically conservative and liberal while expressing commitments to immigrants. This study confirms the sociological argument regarding the solidarity approach of the Catholic Church in Italy toward immigrants, while highlighting some ambivalent aspects related to cultural diversity and grass-roots political engagement within parishes’ life. Full article