(Vatican Radio) “There’s a great sense of tension” on the Philippine island of Mindanao, according to Seán Patrick Lovett, the head of Vatican Radio’s English Section. In a telephone interview from Davao City, Lovett describes the situation in Mindanao under martial law: “We are under a state of martial law. Martial law means that there is a curfew… the mayor of Davao has put out a warning to foreigners not to go outside, because of fear and abductions and kidnappings; there are military checkpoints at different places around the city.” The city, he said, “is literally in lock down.”Listen: The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao on Thursday, after militants linked with the so-called Islamic State attacked the city of Marawi, about 250 km northwest of Davao City. The militants burned buildings in Marawi and taken about a dozen hostages, including the rec...
(Vatican Radio) “There’s a great sense of tension” on the Philippine island of Mindanao, according to Seán Patrick Lovett, the head of Vatican Radio’s English Section. In a telephone interview from Davao City, Lovett describes the situation in Mindanao under martial law: “We are under a state of martial law. Martial law means that there is a curfew… the mayor of Davao has put out a warning to foreigners not to go outside, because of fear and abductions and kidnappings; there are military checkpoints at different places around the city.” The city, he said, “is literally in lock down.”
Listen:
The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao on Thursday, after militants linked with the so-called Islamic State attacked the city of Marawi, about 250 km northwest of Davao City. The militants burned buildings in Marawi and taken about a dozen hostages, including the rector of the Cathedral and a number of parishioners. As of Friday evening there is no word on the fate of the hostages.
null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...
The St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States, on April 9, 2020, in New Orleans. / Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on a suspicion that it may be linked to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in a search warrant granted to Louisiana State Police.The affidavit requesting the search warrant, first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they were sexually abused. It further alleges a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed to provide "gifts" to certain priests, which were meant to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.According to the ...
Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese's major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew BalanBaltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city's parishes.Several parishes from the state's largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's "Seek the City" parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of...
