The Catholic Church in El Salvador finds its voice in opposition to lifting of prohibition on mining.
Dispatches
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
U.S. bishops’ latest religious liberty concern: the government threatening their work with migrants
Attacks by members of Congress on Catholic ministries that are providing humanitarian assistance to migrants were among the challenges to religious freedom detailed by the U.S. bishops in their annual report.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The top 5 international Catholic stories you read in 2024 (and some we wish you had)
Top reports from America’s “Dispatches” department include looks at conflict, migration and geopolitics through a Catholic filter.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
The Irish Christmas tradition that celebrates the unsung work of women
The Irish tradition has long been that on Nollaig na mBan, this final day of the busy Christmas season, women get to put their feet up and enjoy a day of socializing. In some versions of the tradition, men take over the household chores.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
The sound of the Christmas season: A history of the lost art of bell-ringing
Bell ringing has a rich history, integrated into daily and liturgical life year-round, a tradition being rediscovered and appreciated by anthropologists, academics, musicians and an increasing number of ordinary people.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Destitute South Africans and migrants risk their lives in illegal mines—and are exploited by criminal gangs
In the small town of Stilfontein, some 90 miles from the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, hundreds, possibly thousands, of illegal miners have been underground in an abandoned mine shaft for more than a month.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Should you stand or kneel to receive communion? Cardinal Cupich stirs debate after weighing in
A recent missive from Cardinal Blase Cupich to parishioners in Chicago provoked an unusually vitriolic response after the cardinal addressed issues regarding proper liturgical practice on Communion lines.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
How Ireland avoided a far-right surge and anti-incumbent backlash in recent election
When Irish people went to the polls on Nov. 29, there had been concerns that the nation would see a far-right surge in the Dáil, or parliament, in keeping with trends within the rest of Europe. But Ireland continues to be an outlier.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Why does the French government—and not the Catholic Church—own Notre-Dame Cathedral?
Notre-Dame, and many churches in France, are owned by the state and merely used by the church. That gave the French government, and President Macron, a big voice in the restoration project.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Quebec was once a Catholic stronghold. Now it’s a haven for New Age spirituality.
Quebec has played host to a number of cults and alternative religions over the years, from the Ant Hill Kids, the cruelly abused followers of Roch Thériault to the U.F.O. believers of the Raelian Church.