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.
Religious Freedom
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.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
HHS proposal replaces medical ethics with transgender ideology, critics say
Proposed federal regulatory changes to the Affordable Care Act will mean “woke” political correctness will trump medical and ethical considerations, likely exacerbating a nursing and physician shortage in the U.S., claim some critics.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Prison policy that barred Catholic priests from visiting inmates struck down by Wisconsin judge
A Wisconsin judge ruled against the state prison system on Thursday, saying its Covid-19 visitor policy that barred Catholic clergy from meeting with inmates for more than a year violated religious freedom.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
After Cardinal Zen arrest, Pope Francis prays for ‘freedom and tranquility’ for Chinese Catholics
Catholics in China in recent years have experienced greater difficulties in the practice of their faith as a result of the crackdown on religion being carried out under the regime of President Xi Jin-ping.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Catholic hospitals, religious freedom and reaching across the aisle: A dialogue between a priest and an A.C.L.U. director
Catholic health care ministries are at odds with the American Civil Liberties Union on many issues. But are there areas where the two can agree—or collaborate?