South America’s largest democracy will hold presidential elections on Oct. 2 with two iconic Latin American populists as competing candidates: Mr. Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who served as president from 2003 until 2010.
International
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Italy could elect its first woman prime minister—and its most right-wing government since becoming a republic
For the first time in the nation’s history, a woman, Giorgia Meloni, 45, could become prime minister. She would lead Italy’s 70th government since 1946.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Cardinal Grech: The synod ‘needs time’ on the question of married priests
In the second part of this exclusive interview, Cardinal Grech reveals in new depth the plans for the continental and Roman phases of the global synodal process.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
‘Enough is enough’: Cameroon bishops condemn recent church burning and kidnapping
Bishops in Cameroon have spoken out against a recent kidnapping of clergy and laypeople at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, an outgrowth of separatist violence hurting the country.
Posted inNews Analysis, Politics & Society
Irish Republicans praising the queen was once unthinkable. Elizabeth II changed that.
The tributes and gestures from the leaders of Irish political parties long established in the European mainstream came as no surprise. What came as something of a shock—especially to some of their supporters—were statements issued by the leaders of Sinn Féin, the party most associated with the Irish Republican Army.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The majority of Americans think migrants are ‘invading’ the U.S. Meanwhile, suffering at the border continues.
Shifting public perceptions on immigration—often based on political rhetoric and a misunderstanding of the facts on the ground—may help explain why there has been little, if any, movement on immigration reform in Congress.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Border apprehensions are at record highs—but they include many repeat offenders
Border Patrol officials said that the large number of expulsions during the pandemic had contributed to a higher-than-usual number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with five popes
While most people, when asked to describe the relationship between the papacy and the British monarchy, would likely think of the Henry VIII affair, in reality the relationship between the two heads-of-state-slash-heads-of-churches is quite cordial.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Before her murder by insurgents, Italian nun called niece for prayers
“I asked her, ‘Auntie, you’re not leaving?’ and, after a moment of silence, she answered ‘I don’t know, I want to wait,” Comboni Sister Gabriella Bottani said of her aunt, Comboni Sister Maria De Coppi.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Violence against women is a plague in South Africa
Advocates for the protection of women charge that rape is systemic and endemic in South Africa. Police statistics confirm this: There are about 115 rapes per day, a level that is among the highest in the world.