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.
For ‘Red Week,’ parish remembers suffering of Jews and Muslims along with persecuted Christians November 23, 2023By Sam Lucero OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News A prayer service to spotlight the persecution of Christians around the world expanded its focus this year as one Wisconsin parish included both Muslims and Jews in its remembrance.
Lawsuits challenge constitutional status of nation’s first Catholic charter school November 3, 2023By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, Schools, World News Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond is challenging the constitutionality of the nation’s first publicly funded religious charter school after a state school board approved the Catholic school’s application.
25 years after International Religious Freedom Act, limits on religion rise worldwide November 3, 2023By OSV News OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News In the 25 years since the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act became law, “restrictions on religious freedom have been steadily increasing for several years” around the globe, said the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty and international policy committees.
Cardinal Dolan sharply rebukes surging religious hatred in U.S. amid Israel-Hamas war November 2, 2023By Gina Christian OSV News Filed Under: Conflict in the Middle East, Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York has issued a sharp rebuke against surging religious hatred in the U.S. amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Ukrainian faith leaders say if Russia prevails, religious freedoms would be curtailed November 2, 2023By Kate Scanlon OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, War in Ukraine, World News If Russian President Vladimir Putin prevails in his invasion of Ukraine, religious freedom in the country would be curtailed, Ukrainian faith leaders said at a recent event at the United States Institute of Peace.
Vatican at U.N.: Risk of nuclear war is ‘at its highest in generations’ September 27, 2023By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, Vatican, World News Speaking Sept. 26 during a high-level meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, called eliminating nuclear weapons a “moral imperative.”
