Church or State-That is the question

  Nicaragua: Report shows harsh clampdown on faith, civil society https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46109 via @icn_uk Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has today published a new report on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Nicaragua which finds that the government is aggressively attempting to eliminate independent civil society and is responsible for a growing number of serious FoRB violations. The report, entitled 'Nicaragua: Civil society under siege' covers a twelve-month period beginning in November 2021 and is based on first-hand documentation carried out on the ground by Nicaraguan FoRB defenders with support from human rights defenders who have been forced into exile. Documented violations include arbitrary detention, denial of entry to Nicaragua or forced expulsion from the country, threats, harassment, the forced cancellation of religious activities, confiscation of property and the arbitrary cancellation of the legal status of civil society organisations...

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46434   A Nicaraguan judge found four Roman Catholic priests, two seminarians and a church cameraman guilty of conspiracy against the state in a trial held on Thursday 26 January. Father Ramiro Tijerino, rector of the John Paul II University and parish priest at the church of San Juan Bautista; Father Sadiel Eugarrios, Cathedral sub-dean, Father Raúl González, Father José Luis Díaz, dean of the Matagalpa de San Pedro Cathedral, seminarians Darvin Leiva and Melkin Sequeira, and cameraman Sergio Cárdenas were detained on 19 August 2022, after Nicaraguan security forces stormed the Diocese of Matagalpa curia where the seven men had been forcibly confined along with Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos and four others for 15 days. Judge Nadia Camila Tardencilla found the seven men guilty in a decision stating that they had damaged national integrity and propagated fake news to the detriment of the Nicaraguan State and society. The men will be sentenced on 3...

  Nicaragua: 'The Church is being silenced' https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/45353 Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is urgently calling for prayers for Nicaragua amid a dramatic escalation of efforts to silence the Church. The appeal comes after a bishop was arrested last week, which followed the expulsion of the country's Apostolic Nuncio. Regina Lynch, international projects director of ACN, said: "These events represent a further escalation in a spiral of confrontation." Ms Lynch added: "We are witnessing an attempt to silence the Church in Nicaragua. And there is no easy solution. We need to support them as much as possible. We must pray that there may be a peaceful solution and not a further increase in hostilities." Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, who is also Apostolic Administrator of the vacant See of the Diocese of Estelí, was abducted in the early morning on 19th August, along with others including three priests, two seminarians, a deac...

  Every death row prisoner executed in the U.S. in 2022 https://www.newsweek.com/every-death-row-prisoner-executed-2022-1769611

  From hangings to lethal injection — haunting photos show how the death penalty has evolved in America https://news.yahoo.com/haunting-photos-show-death-penalty-114500009.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr via @Yahoo

  Catholic Church in selected African countries Rafał Pokrywiński 2021, Catholic Church in selected African countries. Historical-pastoral perspective https://www.academia.edu/57302344/Catholic_Church_in_selected_African_countries?email_work_card=view-paper Building the Church as Family of God: Evaluation of Small Christian Communities in Eastern Africa Joseph G Healey 2020, SCCs Website Today there are over 180,000 Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in the Catholic Church in the nine AMECEA countries in Eastern Africa.  https://www.academia.edu/9245872/Building_the_Church_as_Family_of_God_Evaluation_of_Small_Christian_Communities_in_Eastern_Africa One Mission Two Churches The Catholic Church in South Africa 1947-1997 Stuart Bate 205 Views 27 Pages 1 File ▾ History of Missions, Catholic Church History “One Mission, Two Churches” In Brain, J https://www.academia.edu/30687724/One_Mission_Two_Churches_The_Catholic_Church_in_South_Africa_1947_1997

The Seven Communist and 36 Islamic Regimes That Most Persecute Christians in 2023 - ZENIT - English : Persecution of Christians “has grown exponentially “ in the last 30 years.

  A Day in the Life https://www.passionistnuns.org/horarium

 https://www.stmarthasguild.com/home-altars How to Prepare a Home Altar (In 5 Easy Steps!) https://youtu.be/vv0FspizRX0

  CREATING SACRED SPACE https://www.occatholic.com/?p=18662 Modern practitioners may not know it, but a home altar is considered a staple feature of every Catholic home. As a central place for family prayer and a quiet space for meditation, the home altar is arranged in an easily accessible location where family members can engage in prayer together or separately. Some Catholics choose to have small altars in every bedroom, but central family shrines or altars are most common. They can be elaborate with large statues, expensive linens and holy incense or simple affairs with small crucifixes and prayer cards. Whatever their size or location, the altars share one purpose: Prayerful worship together or alone that fosters closeness with God.   Why have a family shrine? A centralized place dedicated to prayer and meditation promotes the idea that spirituality is a priority. When we promote group prayer and hymns into our busy lives, the activities centralize our worship and emphas...

  Priest Holes, Persecution and Catholic History https://www.storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com/priest-holes-persecution-and-catholic/

Will There Be ‘Priest Holes’ in the U.S.A.?| National Catholic Register : It was my first encounter with a "priest hole." I had read about that architectural feature of some great English manor houses in history, but I had never see...

Ratzinger and a Vision of Politics - ZENIT - English : Ratzinger both distinguishes what is from what is to come beyond this actual existence, and, at the same time, marks from what is to come what is relevant to this existence.Ratzinger and a Vision of Politics

 https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/dissolution/ What Became of the Monks and Nuns at the Dissolution?   What Became of the PEOPLE !! at the Dissolution? Between 1536 and 1540, on the orders of Henry VIII, every single abbey and priory in England – some 800 in total – was dissolved, or forcibly closed. The shattered remains of monasteries such as Binham Priory, Buildwas Abbey, Gloucester Greyfriars, White Ladies nunnery and Shap Abbey are enduring witness to four years of wilful and targeted destruction that led to permanent changes in the kingdom’s religion, politics, society and economics. As a result, as many as 14,000 monks, nuns and friars, as well as countless monastic servants and tenants, had their lives changed forever, while about 200 people were executed for opposing the Dissolution. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/eabbb11e62b941c1bf1474a83b5ce8a1 THE LONG-RUN IMPACT OF THE DISSOLUTION OF THE ENGLISH MONASTERIES https://www.nber.org/system...