What happens in the aftermath of the I.D.F.’s Rafah assault remains hard to discern. Where do the Palestinians go next? How will they live? How will they be fed and sheltered?
International
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Indigenous peoples struggle to recover from genocidal campaign unleashed under Brazil’s President Bolsonaro
Over the four-year administration of President Jair Bolsonaro, between 2019 and 2023, 570 Yanomami children perished as 20,000 wildcat miners, known in Brazil as garimpeiros, tore up the forest in what should have been protected Yanomami territory, seeking gold, tin and minerals used in contemporary hi-tech products.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
C.R.S. president: Palestinians in Gaza are hungry and exhausted—but also resilient
C.R.S. President Sean Callahan spent a dramatic day in Rafah, meeting with a few of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have escaped the fighting between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Many African bishops have rejected same-sex blessings. South Africa is taking a different stand.
The spokesperson for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference said that the conference “has taken a slightly different stand from the rest of Africa” on the Vatican declaration “Fiducia Supplicans.”
Posted inFaith, News
Québec’s Cardinal Lacroix, named in sex abuse lawsuit, will temporarily step aside from duties
The archdiocesan statement said Cardinal Gérald Lacroix “categorically denies the allegations against him” and considers them “unfounded.”
Posted inFaith, News
Catholic clergy in Uganda accuse the West of a new colonialism through LGBTQ activism
Many Ugandan Catholics oppose Pope Francis’ approval of same-sex blessings. LGBTQ Ugandans have fled to neighboring countries to escape homophobia.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The last priests and nuns in Ireland: Exploring the Irish Catholic Church’s steep decline
RTÉ aired two documentaries in January looking at the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland: “The Last Priests in Ireland” and “The Last Nuns in Ireland.” But signs of hope can still be discerned amid the decline after years of church turbulence.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
The Weekly Dispatch: Wisdom from Pope Francis for the billionaires meeting in Davos
From a Catholic point of view, there is good reason to look askance at some of the “false promises” coming out of Davos, including the idea that better technology and the economic system as it is can deal with global poverty, inequality and care of creation.
Posted inFaith, News
Church burnings in Canada tied to unproven discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools
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.
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.