Nicaragua appears to have frozen the bank accounts of the country’s Jesuit university, marking yet another attack on the Catholic Church.
Latin America
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
USCCB’s international policy chair urges imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop’s release
Nicaraguans overwhelmingly disapprove of the conviction and imprisonment of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, according to a survey in the increasingly repressing Central American country, where the Sandinista regime continues cracking down on the Catholic Church.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez as the new head of Vatican office for doctrine
In a surprise move, Pope Francis has appointed the Argentine theologian and archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
New research reveals Argentine bishops knew the military junta was ‘disappearing’ people and chose not to speak out publicly
The Argentine bishops knew for certain as early as 1979 that it was the military junta’s official policy to “disappear” people in order to quash opposition. The Vatican urged the bishops’ conference to intervene using all possible means.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholic leaders offer prayers, express outrage after 46 die in Honduras women’s prison massacre
Catholics in Honduras prayed for the victims of a horrific massacre in a women’s prison—an attack underscoring the power of the country’s criminal gangs and their control over correctional facilities.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Latin America, eco-spirituality drives a Christian fight against mining interests
While religious groups have been at the forefront of the movement to divest from fossil fuels, the campaign to divest from mining is moving more slowly.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis: ‘I did what I felt I had to do’ during Argentina’s Dirty War
Allegations periodically have surfaced that then-Father Bergoglio either failed to protect Fathers Jálics and Yorio or even that he facilitated their kidnapping.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Jesuit human rights advocates in Mexico targeted by state-sponsored spyware
Mexico’s military has been one of the most prolific users of Pegasus spyware since 2011, having “targeted more cell phones with spyware than any other government agency in the world.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis plans to visit Argentina in 2024 and says Archbishop Gänswein must leave the Vatican
Pope Francis wants to visit Argentina, his homeland, in 2024 and has told Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the private secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI, that he has to leave his Vatican apartment in the coming months.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Report from Honduras: How migration hurts the families and faith communities left behind
Subsistence farmers affected by drought will have to make it to the United States to feed their families and save their farms or cattle. Their departure leaves a gaping hole in families and the community.