Indonesia sees itself as a site of calm and tolerance during a time when different faiths come into ruinous conflict in other nations, a self-image undermined by flare-ups of religiously motivated violence.
International
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Israel plunges into massive protests as Israeli-American, 5 other hostages found murdered in Gaza tunnel
After Israel recovered the bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza, including the body of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, President Biden, who has met with Hersh’s parents, said, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘Irish Patriots’ and Ulster loyalists find a shared scapegoat in Northern Ireland: Immigrants
Loyalist paramilitaries played a central role in organizing the unrest in Belfast, but it was a surprise on both sides of the northern Irish border when they were joined by self-proclaimed “Irish patriots” from the Republic of Ireland.
Posted inFaith, News
Jerusalem cardinal: Interfaith dialogue in the Holy Land is in ‘crisis’
“Right now, Christians, Jews and Muslims cannot meet with one another, at least not publicly,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of Jerusalem.
Posted inFaith, News
Bell rung by Olympic champions will ring inside rebuilt Notre Dame Cathedral during every Mass
During the Paris Olympic Games, track champions rang the bronze bell located close to the finish line. In December, that same bell will ring in the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral during the most sacred part of the Mass.
Posted inFaith, News
Nicaragua forces the closure of more than 25 Catholic religious orders and lay groups
Totalitarian Nicaraguan State under President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo attacks Catholic groups with forced closures.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Jesuits urge Ortega to ‘stop the repression’ on one year anniversary of Nicaragua’s government seizing university
Jesuits: The “unpunished and unjustified confiscation” of UCA has done “inestimable damage to the scientific and cultural heritage of Nicaragua.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Lebanon is being used as a pawn in Middle East geopolitics—and its Christians are caught in the crosshairs
Dark days indeed appear to be looming ahead for Lebanon. Forces far beyond the control of its already embattled citizens—plagued by years of economic and political instability—are dictating their nation’s future.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
U.K. Catholics denounce anti-migrant violence following deadly attack on Taylor Swift-themed dance class
Rioting was sparked by a knife attack at a dance studio in Southport on July 29. Three children were killed and other children and adults injured and seriously wounded.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
Reclaiming faith’s place in culture: A celebration of sacred art joins Edinburgh’s festival season
The Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts seeks to reclaim a place for Christian faith in human culture and put faith back into the festival season.