Few expected that the waters off Ireland’s southwestern coast would become a potential front in a confrontation with the Russian Federation. But that is exactly what happened at the end of January.
International
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Truck protest against vaccine mandates is polarizing Canada — and clergy have mixed reactions
The main body of protesters continued a diesel-rumbling siege of Parliament Hill, igniting fire pits on city streets and sounding truck horns at all hours, driving local residents to despair.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A priest calls out violence against the poor and homeless in Brazil: ‘We have to move from hostility to hospitality’
The Rev. Júlio Lancellotti is São Paulo’s designated vicar for street people. He has been posting images of spikes and other elements of hostile architecture gathered from cell phone photos or video from all over Brazil.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
A bombshell report on sex abuse left France ‘flabbergasted.’ Yet most French Catholics still believe there is hope for reform
The report landed on French Catholics like a bomb. French bishops had never considered sexual abuse a serious problem. “We have been in denial for 20 years,” Father Goujon said. “The bishops said that [that kind of abuse] could never happen here.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Interview: One year after a coup in Myanmar, Cardinal Bo on the chances for peace
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon assesses the future in Myanmar one year after a coup turned back a decade of democratic progress, calling for dialogue, the end of violence and the release of political prisoners.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
El Salvador’s president made Bitcoin a national currency. A Jesuit says the project reminds him of ‘the seven deadly sins’
President Bukele enjoys strong popularity at home and in neighboring Central American countries, but his government faces accusations of authoritarianism and corruption.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
It’s not easy being green: Ireland is failing to respond to the climate crisis
Movies set in Ireland rarely omit the trope of the aerial shot of rolling green fields. After all, it is the Emerald Isle. Or is it?
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: Why Pope Francis thinks cancel culture is a threat to international cooperation
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell take a look at the pope’s talk to ambassadors and why he thinks cancel culture is a threat to international cooperation.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis critiques ‘cancel culture’ in address to diplomats from around the world
“Multilateral diplomacy is thus called to be truly inclusive,” the pope said, “not canceling but cherishing the differences and sensibilities that have historically marked various peoples.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Covid, contested democracies and other major global stories to watch in 2022
Our Dispatches contributors were kind enough to share some thoughts on what stories are likely to be important in 2022 as we cross off, in some relief, the concluding days of 2021.