Democracy Now! April 27, 2012

April 27, 2012 from Democracy Now! via Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND

As the Obama administration continues to expand its use of drone strikes, activists and victims' advocates join a DC summit on the growing civilian death toll. The Vatican has reprimanded the largest group of Catholic nuns in the United States, saying they've focused too heavily on issues of social justice, while failing to speak out enough on abortion and same-sex marriage. And a transgender African-American woman is set to go on trial next week on charges of second-degree murder following an altercation in which she was reportedly physically attacked and called racist and homophobic slurs outside a Minneapolis bar last year. Plus headlines, and more.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is Pope emeritus of the Catholic Church. He served as Pope from 2005 to 2013. In that position, he was both the leader of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City State. Benedict was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal I... Explore this topic

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome. The primacy of Rome makes its bishop, commonly known as the Pope, the worldwide leader of the church. Since Rome is the preeminent episcopal see of the Church, it contains the central government of the ... Explore this topic

Nun

A nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically one living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She may be a woman who decided to dedicate her life to serving all other living beings or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream soci... Explore this topic

Poverty in the United States

In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% Americans lived in poverty. In 2011, Extreme... Explore this topic

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with 1.2 billion members worldwide. It is among the oldest institutions in the world and has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilisation. The Catholic hier... Explore this topic

Social justice

Social justice is justice exercised within a society, particularly as it is applied to and among the various social classes of a society. A socially just society is one based upon the principles of equality and solidarity; which pedagogy also maintains that a socially just soc... Explore this topic

Network

NETWORK is a Roman Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C. Explore this topic

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. The Utopian Socialist and F... Explore this topic

Roy Bourgeois

Roy Bourgeois is a laicized Roman Catholic priest; and an American activist and founder, in 1990, of the human rights group School of the Americas Watch. Ordained to the priesthood in 1972 in the Roman Catholic Church's Maryknoll society of apostolic life's Maryknoll Fathers a... Explore this topic

Poverty

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative pove... Explore this topic

Also See

United States

Barack Obama

Predator drone

Watch Next

1:59

Thousands March Against Chicago School Closures

Al Jazeera English | Mar 28

Thousands of teachers in the third-largest US city of Chicago are protesting against plans to shut down schools in poor neighborhoods. The city's c...