A Nicaraguan judge described the Jesuit university as a “center of terrorism,” accusing its administrators and educators of “betraying the trust of the Nicaraguan people” and of “transgressing against the constitutional order.”
Religious Freedom
Posted inNews Analysis, Politics & Society
The Supreme Court got it right on free speech and accommodating our LGBT neighbors
In two recent cases, the Supreme Court seemed to protect religious belief, but in saying that a website developer cannot be compelled to endorse same-sex marriage, it relied on free speech principles.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Cardinal Dolan: Catholics have a duty to care for immigrants. And the government can’t punish us for that.
The Catholic Church is not a faction of the Republican Party—and Democrats are not the only ones who sometimes view the defense of religious freedom as a pothole instead of a stop sign.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
House committee alleges FBI used undercover agent to produce analysis on ‘radical traditionalist’ Catholics
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, alleged the FBI suggested that “certain kinds of Catholic Americans may be domestic terrorists.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
It is dangerous to be Catholic in Nicaragua. Here’s how Americans can help.
The Ortega regime‘s ban on religious processions during Lent is only the latest action to effectively criminalize Catholicism in Nicaragua. Catholics in the U.S. must assist refugees and fight anti-religious authoritarianism.
Posted inFaith, News
Imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop proved alive in coerced TV interview
Imprisoned Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez appeared unexpectedly on Nicaraguan television March 24, more than six weeks after refusing to be exiled from his country, opting instead to face his sentence of 26 years behind bars.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
75 years after Gandhi’s assassination, Hindu nationalism troubles India
Seventy-five years after Gandhi’s death, when Hindu nationalism has risen to the highest echelons of the Indian government, his legacy in the nation he helped liberate is complex and, in some cases, denigrated.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
With a ‘sham trial’ of a Nicaraguan bishop about to begin, a clampdown on the nation’s Catholic Church continues
Bishop Álvarez briefly materialized in Managua for a pre-trial hearing, accused of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity and propagation of false news.” A frequent government critic, Bishop Álvarez had strongly objected to the closing of Catholic radio and television stations last year.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: ‘The Doctrine of Discovery’ and how the Catholic Church may officially reject it
The “Doctrine of Discovery” is the leveraging of the idea of discovery to argue for and put into law a claim on and right to indigenous lands. It has no current and actively sustained legal connection.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Gorbachev and St. John Paul were key players in ending the Cold War—and greatly appreciated each other
When Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Aug. 30, first met with Pope John Paul in December 1989, less than a month after the Berlin Wall’s collapse, the two leaders “understood each other immediately.”