In response to unproven claims of graves near the Kamloops Indian Residential School, at least 85 Catholic churches in Canada have been vandalized or set ablaze, raising concerns among the Catholic Civil Rights League.
International
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
South Africa has taken Israel to international court on genocide charges. What comes next?
For many in South Africa, there is a symbolic significance in the decision to pursue the genocide charge. In 2024, South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy, yet vast injustices still permeate South African society because of its traumatic history.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
After Christmas attacks on Christians, Nigerian bishops raise concerns of Islamist agenda—and government complicity
As many as 295 people were killed in a series of apparently coordinated raids on some 30 villages in Nigeria’s Plateau State that began on Dec. 23 and continued through Christmas Day.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
A Monastic Christmas Fair: How laypeople in Spain are marketing monasteries to the modern world
The Christmas fair in Madrid was the work of Fundación Contemplare, a nonprofit set up to help Spain’s monasteries continue a legacy of gourmet baked goods and handmade candies but also, more importantly, to support contemplative life and reconnect monasteries with the world around them.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Mexico’s President López Obrador attacks Jesuit human rights advocates
The president devoted more than 20 minutes of his press conference to an attack on Centro Prodh and its activism for human rights in Mexico. He charged, without offering any evidence, that Centro Prodh’s work is influenced by political actors from opposition parties.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
After Christmas party massacre, bishop tells Mexicans not to ’get used’ to violence
Bishop Enrique Díaz Díaz of Irapuato, Mexico urged people not to be indifferent after the massacre of a dozen young people at a Christmas party.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Medical assistance in dying can’t solve the problem of suffering. Canada’s system is a cautionary tale.
Ms. Godin-Tremblay wonders if the loneliness her grandmother felt during the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to her decision to seek assistance in dying. Almost two years later, she still struggles to mourn the loss of her grandmother.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Climate Refugees of Honduras
Small farmers here in the middle of Central America’s dry corridor are almost totally reliant on rainfall to water their crops. As those rains become less reliable because of climate change, crop failures and then migration are the results.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Argentina’s president-elect Milei moderates his anti-pope rhetoric. Will it last?
The Argentine church received a message with the call Pope Francis made to Javier Milei: ”Lay off this guy” and “contribute to social peace.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Scotland, faith leaders push for fair pay for caregivers to the elderly
Catholic leaders in Scotland recently joined their Presbyterian Church of Scotland counterparts in advocacy for fair pay for workers in this increasingly essential sector of health care givers for the elderly.