Broadly, the three nations persistently harass religious communities through surveillance, threats of imprisonment, arbitrary detentions and arrests, control of religious messages including sermons and public attacks. The nations enact laws that unjustly restrict the activities and legal status of religious groups; practice favoritism in attempts to control messaging and deny religious freedom to prisoners.
Read MoreIt’s been occupied twice by military forces; it’s been expanded to house Franciscan friars, and these days, it’s part museum, part sacred space. The Church of San Francisco’s building tells the history of its host city, La Paz. Founded in 1549, the church is best known by the name of the founder of the Franciscans, which was one of the first orders to arrive with the Spanish conquerors.
Read MoreLa Basílica y Convento de San Francisco, fundados en el siglo XVI, son un símbolo fundamental de la identidad paceña. Reconstruida tras el colapso de su primera estructura, la actual iglesia barroca mestiza se erigió entre 1743 y 1800. A lo largo de la historia, el complejo fue ocupado por fuerzas independentistas y remodelado varias veces, siendo declarado monumento nacional en 1967.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Bad Bunny is more than a global music phenomenon; he’s a bona fide symbol of Puerto Rico. The church choir boy turned “King of Latin Trap” has songs, style and swagger that reflect the island’s mix of pride, pain and creative resilience.
Read More(EXPLAINER) When a life-size skeleton dressed like the Grim Reaper first appeared on a street altar in Tepito, Mexico City, in 2001, many passersby instinctively crossed themselves. The figure was La Santa Muerte — or Holy Death — a female folk saint cloaked in mystery and controversy.
Read MoreA leading religious freedom advocacy group joined Christians in southern Mexico Oct. 17 demanding answers after the latest murder of a Catholic priest in the region torn by drug cartels.
Read MoreLa derrota del socialismo en la primera vuelta de las elecciones presidenciales de Bolivia, el 17 de agosto, marcó un punto de inflexión para la Iglesia Católica.
Read MoreThe history of San Francisco Church in Valparaíso is so intertwined with the Chilean port city that when a fire burned down the building in 2013, one neighbor felt like she was losing a friend. The city owes its nickname “Pancho” to the church (men named “Francisco” are often called “Pancho” in Latin America).
Read MoreLa historia de la Iglesia San Francisco en Valparaíso está tan entrelazada con la ciudad portuaria chilena que, cuando un incendio destruyó el edificio en 2013, una vecina sintió que estaba perdiendo a un amigo.
Read MoreA new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a moment of both theological significance and pastoral clarity, Pope Leo XIV made his most consequential intervention yet on the church’s role in the Amazon. In a recent message, the pope struck a firm tone to 90 South American bishops meeting in Bogota, Colombia — affirming the Catholic Church’s mission and offering a course correction from the recent past.
Read MoreAt a time when more than three billion people worldwide live without access to a local church, International Cooperating Ministries is inviting Christians to help bridge that gap. The Virginia-based missions organization, which has helped construct more than 13,600 permanent church buildings in 110 countries, recently launched its new Community Impact Partners program.
Read MoreThis regular school day at the Professor Humberto González School Center would have been impossible four years ago. The neighborhood surrounding the campus used to be the grounds of a turf war between the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs. The student body, which once numbered 1,200, dropped to about 50
Read MoreA recent concert for peace in Gaza brought together Jews and Palestinians at a Catholic church in Santiago. Some 500 people attended the concert for cello, flute and classical guitar, with two female voices, organized by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí. The archbishop, who organized the event, is a descendant of Palestinian immigrants.
Read MoreThe bodies of seven evangelical Christians and a relative were found July 1 in a shallow grave in the Guaviare province in south-central Colombia. The six men and two women had been reported missing since April.
Read More(ANALYSIS) During his time in the South American nation, Pope Leo XIV lived alongside his parishioners through a bloody civil war, a decade-long dictatorship and an unstable post-dictatorship period that has so far led to three former presidents being handed prison sentences.
Read MoreEl nuevo papa León XIV saludó en su primer discurso como jefe de la Iglesia Católica Romana a la diócesis de Chiclayo, donde ejerció como misionero y arzobispo emérito en el norte del Perú, país donde ha realizado gran parte de su ministerio religioso.
Read MoreIn his first address as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV offered a special greeting to the Diocese of Chiclayo in northern Peru, where he once served as a missionary and Archbishop Emeritus. Peru is celebrating his election as a historic milestone, as he becomes the first pope with dual citizenship — American by birth and Peruvian by naturalization.
Read MoreThe wooden churches of Chiloé stand as a landmark of this archipelago in this southern Latin American nation. Built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century, they survive amid restoration challenges and fewer faithful attending Mass. In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared 16 of these churches as World Heritage Sites.
Read MoreBelief in the supernatural — including life after death and the idea that animals and nature can possess spirits — is common across diverse cultures and religions, with younger and older generations sharing similar views, a new survey reveals. The findings paint a nuanced picture of global spirituality, suggesting that beliefs in the unseen are deeply rooted in human cultures and persist even as traditional faith fades.
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