exclamation

Important notice: To continue serving our valued readers during the postal disruption, complete unrestricted access to the digital edition is available at no extra cost. This will ensure uninterrupted digital access to your copies. Click here to view the digital edition, or learn more.

News/International

Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa walks outside a Catholic church in Managua May 20, 2022. After more than 500 days' detention, the Ortega regime released the prelate, who has been the Nicaraguan government's most prominent critic, from prison Jan. 14, 2023, and sent into exile along with 18 other imprisoned churchmen. Bishop Álvarez safely landed in Rome Jan. 14, the Vatican confirmed.

Bishop Rolando Álvarez released, exiled from Nicaragua after over 500 days of detention

By

Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa has been released from prison and sent into exile along with 18 imprisoned churchmen as the Nicaraguan government expelled its most prominent critic, whose presence behind bars bore witness to the Sandinista regime descent into totalitarianism, along with its unrelenting persecution of the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, Congo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Vatican Oct. 7, 2023.

Not appropriate to bless same-sex couples in Africa, bishops say

By

Reaffirming their fidelity to the pope and the Gospel, Catholic bishops in Africa have released a common response to a recent Vatican declaration, saying they "generally prefer" not to offer blessings to same-sex couples.

Thousands gather in Sydney for Cardinal Pell's memorial Mass

Thousands gather in Sydney for Cardinal Pell's memorial Mass

By

Thousands gathered at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney in memory of a man they loved for his vision and "big heart" a year after his death in Rome.

Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick wears a mask during arraignment at Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Sept. 3, 2021. Facing charges that he had molested a 16-year-old boy in 1974, the case was dismissed, the judge ruling that McCarrick no longer has the cognitive capacity to stand trial. On Jan. 10, 2024, a judge in Wisconsin suspended a similar case.

Wisconsin judge suspends criminal case against McCarrick

By

A Wisconsin judge has suspended a criminal case against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick Jan. 10, citing incompetency. McCarrick had been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault for abuse that allegedly took place in 1977.

Father Leszek Gesiak, spokesman of the Polish bishops' conference, left, is seen at a Jan. 9, 2024, press conference in Warsaw with university professors explaining church financing and taxation of clergy. The newly installed Polish government coalition, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, said it would abolish a state Church Fund as part of its reforms. Church leaders said Jan. 9 they were not contacted by the government to discuss such a move and they needed to clarify "often inaccurate information on church financing or taxation of clergy."

Poland's bishops pledge dialogue with new government; others see conflict ahead for church

By

Poland's bishops have pledged dialogue with their country's new liberal government, but leading Catholics warned that government plans for rapid secularizing change could spark conflict as the ruling coalition plans to limit religious classes in public schools and abolish the state Church Fund.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is pictured in a March 25, 2022, photo.

'No' to same-sex blessings, say two Eastern Catholic bishops

By

The apostolic administrator of Toronto’s Byzantine Catholic Eparchy has joined with a Ukrainian archbishop in rejecting a controversial Vatican document on pastoral blessings for same-sex couples and other unmarried couples.

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, looks on as he leaves the Court of Final Appeal by prison van, in Hong Kong Feb. 1, 2021. Lai, Hong Kong's Catholic pro-democracy supporter, pleaded not guilty Jan. 2, 2024, to national security crimes.

Hong Kong Catholic Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty in national security trial

By

Prominent Hong Kong Catholic, philanthropist and media mogul Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty to endangering national security in a trial that democracy advocates around the world said includes bogus charges.

Demonstrators block a road during a protest against Argentine President Javier Milei's economic reforms, in Buenos Aires Dec. 28, 2023.

Argentine church stops receiving state funding

By

Argentina's Catholic Church will no longer receive public funding, concluding a process established by the country's bishops' conference for the church to provide its own financing.

The Nicaraguan government released photos Jan. 2, 2024, of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa receiving medical attention from a prison doctor. The U.S. Department of State has demanded earlier in the day the release of Bishop Álvarez and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season. Dressed in a pink dress shirt and gray slacks, Bishop Álvarez appeared pale and gaunt as a physician took his blood pressure and performed tests. Church observers have expressed concern for the well-being of the arrested priests, whose status as detainees remains unknown. Bishop Álvarez is imprisoned for over 500 days in La Modelo prison outside Managua, the capital.

Nicaraguan regime publishes photos of Bishop Álvarez as US demands release of imprisoned bishop, other clergy

By

The U.S. Department of State has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season.

Flowers lie on caskets during a funeral Mass in the parish hall of St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Nigeria, June 17, 2022, for some of the 40 victims killed in a June 5 attack by gunmen during Mass at the church.

Christmas attacks target Nigerian Christians

By

About 200 Nigerian Christians lost their lives in multi-day attacks that left hundreds more injured and displaced.

Members of the Christian community chant slogans as they hold placards during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan, Aug. 17, 2023, to condemn the attacks on churches and houses in the Jaranwala town of Faisalabad. A Muslim crowd vandalized churches and torched homes Aug. 16 after two Christians were accused of blasphemy.

Pakistan Christians end year of persecution hoping new government in 2024 will bring respite

By

As 2024 begins, Christians in Pakistan are winding up a year of violence and mayhem, with the hope of a new government to bring respite to their suffering after the national elections in February.

Page 18 of 663