The Church of St. Luke

The Algerian government has “shut down, over the course of the last nine to 10 years, almost 50 churches across the country,” Kelsey Zorzi said.

As part of an ongoing reorganization due to a priest shortage and declining numbers of churchgoers, the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, announced the parishes that will no longer hold weekend Masses.

“What is clear, is that no other state on earth is even attempting to do what the Holy See is trying to do,” Alexander John Paul Lutz, a Helsinki Commission policy fellow, testified.

Bishop Juan Liébana of Chascomús, Argentina, describes the ideal profile of a politician: a person of great virtue and integrity intent on building a better society.

The bishop of Palm Beach said the crisis in the neighboring island nation “has reached truly inhumane proportions … and our solidarity and response are urgently needed.”

The diocese clarified that the decision expresses “no moral judgment regarding the life, virtues, and pastoral ministry” of the bishop, who remains a servant of God.

Assessing the country’s current situation, the prelate emphasized that free elections and democracy simultaneously require the separation of powers, free speech, and a well-informed public.

In the wake of the incident, the local bishop, who will perform a rite of reparation, called for the return of the holy Eucharist and intense prayers for the conversion of the perpetrators.

While the dictatorship in Nicaragua continues suppressing the Church through police surveillance and the prohibition of public processions, attendance at Holy Week services was strong.

A seminary was established in Mexico in 1999 to serve the growing Hispanic community in North America, forming future priests who learn Spanish as well as ecclesial and cultural traditions.