Religious persecution

The Latest

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Report: Christian persecution at its highest point in 30 years

Jan 18, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The World Watch List, released by Open Doors on Jan. 18, reported that the number of Christians facing persecution worldwide... Read more

Bishop José Álvarez Lagos surrounded by police officers on Aug. 4, 2022.

2022 was the worst year for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

Dec 29, 2022

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro reported that “2022 was the most disastrous year for the Nicaraguan Catholic Church.”  Read more

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‘Rising Islamist extremism’  spreading across globe, says report

Dec 1, 2022

By Peter Pinedo

Aid to the Church in Need found that as a result of increased jihadist activity, persecution of Christians along the... Read more

Image of the Immaculate Conception of the Parish of San José de Tipitapa, Nicaragua

Dictatorship in Nicaragua prohibits Immaculate Conception procession

Nov 29, 2022

By CNA Staff

The decision forces San José de Tipitapa parish in the Archdiocese of Managua to hold their celebrations in the parish... Read more

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Prohibiting Nativity scenes in Mexico would be an ‘attack’ on religious freedom, group says

Nov 3, 2022

By CNA Staff

The National Front for the Family said prohibiting Nativity scenes on public property in Mexico would be “an enormous absurdity.” Read more

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ADF calls on human rights commission to defend religious freedom in Mexico and Nicaragua

Nov 1, 2022

By CNA Staff

“Latin America is currently experiencing a surge of human rights abuses in the area of religious freedom,” stated Tomás Henriquez,... Read more

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega

Another Catholic priest has been ‘kidnapped’ by Nicaragua’s government, says exiled churchman

Oct 17, 2022

By Eduardo Berdejo

According to a prominent human rights group, Father Enrique Martínez Gamboa is the 11th Catholic priest to be arrested and... Read more

Andrew Thorburn (seen here in a 2015 photo), a former Australian banking executive and current chairman of church affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, stepped down Oct. 4, 2022, one day after being appointed chief executive of an Australian rules football club due to public backlash.

Christians excluded from Australian sports? Bishops raise alarm after exec resigns

Oct 7, 2022

By AC Wimmer

One day after being appointed chief executive of an Australian rules football club, Andrew Thorburn stepped down from the role... Read more

CNA

Priest prevented from returning to Nicaragua: It’s ‘not a crime’ to criticize government

Oct 3, 2022

By CNA Staff

Before Father Guillermo Blandón could take the flight from Miami to Nicaragua, he was informed that the Nicaraguan government had... Read more

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega

Nicaraguan dictator Ortega verbally attacks pope, calls Church ‘the perfect dictatorship’

Sep 29, 2022

By CNA Staff

President Daniel Ortega called the pope a “holy tyrant” and said the Church is “the perfect dictatorship” during a Sept.... Read more

Bishop Rolando Álvarez

Church in Nicaragua asks for continued prayers for abducted bishop and priests

Sep 27, 2022

By CNA Staff

The Diocese of Matagalpa asked for prayers for its bishop, Rolando Álvarez, and others who were arrested and abducted in... Read more

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Ortega dictatorship expels another religious congregation from Nicaragua

Sep 22, 2022

By CNA Staff

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has expelled the Religious Sisters of the Cross, thus continuing its attacks... Read more

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Blessed Sacrament found intact in tabernacle of church burned by armed men in Cameroon

Sep 22, 2022

By CNA Staff

In the aftermath of the fire that gutted a church in Cameroon, Bishop Aloysius Fondong found the sacred Hosts and... Read more

A proposal to convert the Catholic chapel located in the capitol building where Colombia’s Congress meets into a “neutral place of worship” is “persecution of the Catholic Church,” said Father Raúl Ortiz.

Priest calls attempt to close Colombia Capitol building chapel ‘persecution of the Church’

Sep 20, 2022

By CNA Staff

A congressman has proposed to convert the Catholic chapel located in the capitol building where Colombia’s Congress meets into a... Read more

St. Michael the Archangel

Nicaraguan dictatorship prohibits procession for St. Michael the Archangel and St. Jerome

Sep 19, 2022

By CNA Staff

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has prohibited upcoming processions in Masaya. Read more

The European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.

European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop

Sep 16, 2022

By AC Wimmer

The resolution, passed Sept. 15, criticized the arbitrary “arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez” and called “for his and others’ immediate... Read more

Formerly detained Father Oliver Opara (left) with Ummi Hassan; Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto (not an abductee); Father Stephen Ojapah; and Hassan Fareed Hassan after the four were released from being held captive by terrorists.

Freed Nigerian priest recounts details of his kidnapping by insurgents

Sep 7, 2022

By Douglas Burton

Father Stephen Ojapah had fallen fast asleep late on May 25 after an exhausting day of parish work when two... Read more

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Crowd prays rosary at Colombia’s El Dorado airport to demand reopening of Catholic chapel

Sep 7, 2022

By CNA Staff

The private company that manages the airport closed the chapel on Aug. 26 and said it would become a “space... Read more

Bishop of Fontibón, Colombia, Juan Vicente Córdoba laments in an Aug. 29, 2022, video that the chapel of the El Dorado International Airport, located in his diocese, was forced to close despite the fact that there was an agreement until the year 2037.

Bishop: Those who closed Colombia airport chapel will ‘have to give an account to God’

Sep 1, 2022

By CNA Staff

The private company that manages El Dorado International Airport announced Aug. 26 the closure of the Catholic chapel and its... Read more

The altar of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York, was damaged by vandals in May 2022.

Republican lawmakers demand DOJ act on anti-Catholic attacks

Aug 31, 2022

By Edie Heipel

A group of Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday condemning his inaction over the... Read more