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Rick Rojas

Articles written by the author

World
9 Aug 2024
LaPLACE, La. — The insurgents, dressed in the linen uniforms of slaves and wielding clubs and guns, swarmed the sprawling white plantation house and attacked its owner. The anger and resentment that had grown over years of oppression had boiled over into an uprising.
A Slave Rebellion Rises Again
World
8 Aug 2024
WETUMPKA, Ala. — In the pink-walled dormitory of the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, nearly all of the inmates had risen before dawn. Some sat on one another’s beds, applying makeup and sipping instant coffee. Geneva Cooley sat alone, having just put on her white uniform for the last time.
Leaving Prison at 72: 'Not Home Yet, but at Least You're Free'
World
8 Aug 2024
WETUMPKA, Ala. — In the pink-walled dormitory of the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, nearly all of the inmates had risen before dawn. Some sat on one another’s beds, applying makeup and sipping instant coffee. Geneva Cooley sat alone, having just put on her white uniform for the last time.
Leaving Prison at 72
World
7 Aug 2024
EL PASO, Texas — The Rev. Fabian Marquez had not slept much. Whenever he closed his eyes, his mind filled with the faces he saw draining of hope as they learned their relatives had been killed. His week had been a string of vigils, rosaries, memorial services and funeral planning sessions.
In a Suffering City, an El Paso Priest Needed a Message of Hope
World
7 Aug 2024
EL PASO, Texas — On the afternoon of the first Sunday of every month, many congregants of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church fill the otherwise empty sanctuary to quietly pray. On this Sunday, the day after a gunman who authorities said authored a hateful screed opened fire inside a Walmart, killing 20 and wounding more than two dozen others, far more people than usual knelt in the pews, rosary beads laced through their fingers. Some dabbed their eyes. Most sought comfort among parishioner...
Uncertainty in El Paso as Names of Shooting Victims Trickle Out
World
7 Aug 2024
NEW YORK — First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem had 300 members and no website when LaKeesha Walrond and her husband took over as pastors. Yet, as many churches have strained to maintain their congregations, theirs flourished: More than 10,000 congregants now come for Sunday services and for mental health programs, yoga classes and a free coworking space.
A First at a Century-Old Seminary: A Black Woman Takes Charge
World
6 Aug 2024
On the night before Easter, a group of soon-to-be Catholics stood in flowing white robes holding candles, waiting to be summoned by the cardinal. One by one, under the cathedral’s soaring ceiling and stained glass windows, he dabbed oil onto their foreheads, praying, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Becoming Catholic in the Age of Scandal
World
6 Aug 2024
NEW YORK — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn on Friday released the names of more than 100 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a child, joining a recent torrent of disclosures from dioceses and religious orders across the country as law enforcement officials examine the church’s response to an epidemic of abuse.
World
6 Aug 2024
Roman Catholic bishops in New Jersey on Wednesday named nearly 200 priests who have been found credibly accused of sexually abusing a child. The disclosure is just the latest reported in recent weeks by dioceses and religious orders across the country as law enforcement officials examine the church’s response to an epidemic of abuse.
World
25 Jun 2024
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — At a polling place not far from the intersection of avenues named for Jefferson Davis and Rosa Parks, Laura Minor spent a scorching afternoon on a folding chair with a David Woods for Mayor sticker on her shirt. She had been hired to represent his campaign, yet she was not shy about making it clear that Woods had bought her time but had not won her vote.
Montgomery, a Cradle of Civil Rights, Elects Its First Black Mayor
World
25 Jun 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. — Residents of a largely white suburb of Baton Rouge voted on Saturday to incorporate a new city of their own — to be called St. George — and take away control of the community’s taxes, schools and other services from the less affluent, more diverse surrounding parish.
Suburbanites in Louisiana Vote to Create a New City of Their Own