Guatemala’s vulnerability is natural disasters is compounded by climate change and historical inequities in land distribution—the poorest live in the most dangerous locations where many are threatened by mudslides.
Latin America
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
In Belize, death is a part of life. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.
During my first half-decade as a priest, I buried a total of three people. In the last two years here in Belize, that number is well over a hundred—and it has reminded me of love’s eternalness.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Crime rates in Mexico are higher than ever. Vigilante justice might make that worse.
In Mexico, where both organized and petty crime has exploded to unprecedented levels, vigilante justice has become increasingly common; citizens who gun down assailants during robbery attempts often make headlines as heroes.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Evo Morales says Pope Francis called him, pleaded for peace after Bolivia’s election
Evo Morales said Pope Francis called him to congratulate him on his party’s win after exit polls showed that the former Bolivian president’s top pick, Luis Arce, would win the general election.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Demonstrators burn two Catholic churches in Chile on anniversary of protests
Demonstrators burned two Catholic churches in Chile, where gatherings to mark the one-year anniversary of mass protests against inequality descended into chaos.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
In Paraguay, church fights ‘hunger we have never experienced before’
“Our biggest problem is hunger; we are helping feed people who have watched their livelihoods evaporate with the pandemic,” said Father Rolón.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Mexican president again asks pope for apology for 1521 conquest
Amid the tensions in Mexico — which include the president’s opponents camping out in the heart of the capital — the Archdiocese of Mexico City published an editorial Oct. 11, saying, “It appears the pope is speaking directly to Mexico when he says politics is being used as a mechanism to exasperate and polarize in many countries.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Nicaraguan Catholic leaders decry government’s repressive measures
The church has faced repression—including attacks on clergy and places of worship and constant surveillance from police outside parishes—as it has tried to pay a mediating role, but has come to be seen by the regime as an opponent.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Catholic Church in Latin America is losing control of the pro-life movement. Can it win it back?
New social actors, especially evangelical Protestant groups and right-wing movements, have joined the debate on the liberalization of abortion law.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
After trying to protect water sources, these Hondurans have been held without bail for more than a year.
Over the past two years, 31 people from the municipality of Tocoa, on the lush north shore of Honduras, have faced criminal prosecution as a result of their opposition to an iron ore mining project in the Botaderos Mount “Carlos Escaleras” National Park.