Working groups at the Vatican’s Amazon synod push for married clergy
Vatican CityRNS As the 185 Catholic bishops who met to discuss the Amazon region broke into small working groups for the second week of the synod, the topics they would tackle included dwindling vocations, the role of women and married men in the church and the rights of Indigenous peoples. But if the small-group participants […]
Bishops worry divisions on “details” at synod distract from big picture
Vatican CityRNS Halfway into a three-week gathering of bishops at the Vatican to discuss the Amazon region, participants warned that inside divisions over ordination or inculturation risk missing the forest, so to speak, for the trees. “In focusing only on certain themes, there is the risk of losing the broader outlook,” said the Vatican’s chief […]
ESSAY: AMAZONIAN BISHOPS CONDEMN ATTACKS ON RAINFOREST AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks back at this week’s Amazon Synod…
Two-thirds of Amazon Catholic bishops support married priests, says Brazil bishop
Vatican CityRNS According to one Brazil bishop attending the Vatican summit on the Amazon region, a majority of Brazilian bishops are in favor of allowing the ordination of married men to the priesthood. “Of the bishops who are in the Amazon region, I guess two-thirds are in favour of the viri probati,” said Emeritus Bishop Erwin […]
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: YOUNG TAIWANESE RECONNECT WITH ROOTS TO HEAL TRAUMA
BEH LIH YI and SHANSHAN CHEN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports from Taiwan…
INDIA: ENSLAVED FOR DECADES, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FREED BY LAND TITLES
ANURADHA NAGARAJ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
A NEW HIGH: INDIGENOUS THAI FARMERS SWAP OPIUM FOR COFFEE AND LAND
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on what is being seen as a model project for ending narcotic drug cultivation and improving the lives of Indigenous communities….
Government plea sees India’s top court halt eviction of millions of forest-dwellers
Thomson Reuters Foundation India’s Supreme Court on Thursday stayed its earlier ruling that had ordered the forced evictions of millions of indigenous people whose land claims were rejected, after the central government said states needed more time to examine claims. Earlier this month the Supreme Court issued an order to remove forest-dwellers in 21 states […]
US Catholic school apologises after clip emerges of students mocking Native Americans
Washington, DCRNS A Catholic high school in the US state of Kentucky is apologising after videos surfaced of students dressed in the school’s garb confronting and mocking a group of Native Americans – including one man believed to be a Vietnam War veteran – in Washington, DC. Several clips of the encounter circulating on social media show […]
In first, Native American tribe displaced by sea gets land to relocate
Thomson Reuters Foundation A small Native American tribe in Louisiana whose land has nearly vanished into the sea has moved a step closer to relocating its community further inland after authorities acquired new land for the move, part of a first-of-its-kind project. The 208 hectares of farmland will be made available to members of the […]