ACN head: God gives believers ‘grace to resist’ their persecutors and ‘remain faithful’ March 15, 2024By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News With an estimated one in seven Christians worldwide facing persecution, OSV News recently sat down with Regina Lynch, who in June 2023 was appointed the executive president of Aid to the Church in Need, an international pontifical foundation that supports the church where it is poorest and most persecuted.
For persecuted Christians, hope is ‘our weapon, our shield,’ major archbishop says March 12, 2024By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News Amid persecution, Christians must “be a sign of hope,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
U.S. bishops’ annual religious freedom essay contest opens for high schoolers March 11, 2024By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, Schools, World News High school juniors and seniors are invited to enter an annual religious liberty essay contest hosted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, along with the USCCB Secretariat of Catholic Education and Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
CHA says article ‘perpetuates myth’ Catholic hospitals’ pro-life stance ‘contrains’ care for women February 21, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, Health Care, News, Religious Freedom, World News The head of the Catholic Health Association of the United States called it “extremely disappointing” that a USA Today article published Feb. 17 “suggested that Catholic health care’s long-standing commitment to providing care that recognizes the sacredness of each individual — from conception to natural death — somehow constrains care.”
Pence suggests U.S. alter trade agreement with Nicaragua in response to church persecution January 31, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: News, Religious Freedom, World News Former Vice President Mike Pence condemned Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s anti-Catholic persecution in comments at a religious freedom summit in Washington Jan. 30, arguing the U.S. should alter its existing trade agreement with that government if its religious persecution continues.
Court hears case on federal agencies’ regulatory power that could impact church entities January 23, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court, World News The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Jan. 17 in a pair of cases concerning the regulatory power of federal agencies and the deference that courts give those agencies in their interpretation of the law, a legal doctrine known as Chevron deference.
New US bishops’ report identifies 5 top areas of religious liberty concerns January 16, 2024By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Bishops, Feature, Immigration and Migration, News, Religious Freedom, World News – A new annual report by the U.S. bishops’ conference identifies five top threats to religious liberty in the United States, including a federal regulation it says could impose mandates on doctors to perform objectionable procedures and threats to the church’s service to people who are migrants.
Nicaraguan regime publishes photos of Bishop Álvarez as US demands release of imprisoned bishop, other clergy January 3, 2024By David Agren OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News 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.
Christian persecution on the rise globally, but overlooked, says expert January 2, 2024By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News Data shows that Christian persecution is on the rise globally — but that repression remains largely overlooked in the news cycle, one expert told OSV News.
‘Do not forget’ Sahel humanitarian crisis, warns Ivory Coast bishop on U.S. visit December 5, 2023By Barb Fraze OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News This December, when Catholic villagers in northern Ivory Coast are preparing for Christmas, many will be organizing Advent food and supplies for the nearly 42,000 refugees who have fled into their country from the Sahel, said the head of the Commission of Integral Human Development for the bishops of Ivory Coast.
Exile: Don’t underestimate Nicaragua church’s ‘prophetic voice’ amid repression December 4, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News In the face of Nicaragua’s authoritarian regime, “the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church cannot be underestimated,” said an opposition leader recently exiled to the U.S., who joined fellow speakers at a Dec. 1 presentation on the church’s role in preserving democratic freedom.
Wearing a rosary can make a Latino a target for police, historian says December 3, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Immigration and Migration, News, Religious Freedom, World News Many law enforcement officers associate Catholic imagery and symbols with criminality in the U.S. Latino community, a historian researching the American Southwest said.
