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.
Religious Freedom
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?
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Supreme Court appears to side with football coach over postgame prayers
The majority of Supreme Court justices seemed to side with a former high school football coach who said his postgame prayers on the field amounted to private speech.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Catholics and religious liberty in early American history
If Catholics wanted to be tolerated in the early years of the Maryland Colony, they had to prove their loyalty—first to the Stuarts, then to Parliament, then the House of Hanover and then the fledgling American republic.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Teachers at Catholic schools should conform to church teaching, Vatican congregation says
But the Congregation for Catholic Education also said that administrators should not be too quick to dismiss employees who are not “totally” Catholic.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis: Religious persecution is ‘insane’ and ‘inhuman’
In a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope Francis offered his prayer intention for the month of January, which he dedicated to people who suffer from religious discrimination and persecution.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Supreme Court leans toward blocking Maine program that excludes religious schools
In oral arguments that took nearly two hours, several of the justices found fault with the state’s decision process in determining just how religious a school was to decide if it could participate or not.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Is an L.G.B.T.Q. ‘lifestyle’ compatible with working for Catholic schools? A Seattle task force finds no easy answer.
A task force created by the Archdiocese of Seattle urges more pastoral outreach to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics. But it declined to press for changes to employment provisions at Catholic institutions.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Amid Ortega’s crackdown on opponents, is the Catholic Church in Nicaragua next?
As Nicaragua prepares for a general election in November, Mr. Ortega has ramped up a broad repression of dissenting voices. Could the Catholic Church be his next target?
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Christian family in Afghanistan appeals to Pope Francis for help fleeing persecution
While the Taliban have promised not to shed any blood, some locals fear that the Islamist regime will lead to persecutions and violence.