Nicaragua: Christians attacked, detained and killed as ‘enemies of the regime’

More violence erupted during another anti-government protest in the capital Managua on Sunday (2 September) in which at least three people were injured. (Photo: INTI OCON/AFP/Getty Images)
Nicaragua’s president ordered a UN commission to leave the country on 1 September after it criticised the government for alleged human rights abuses committed during its clampdown on anti-government protestors. In its report, the UN Commission on Human Rights “called on the government to stop the persecution of protestors and . . . Read More

Report: Latin American states failing Christians by overlooking ‘criminal freedom’

During the 50 years conflict between Colombia's government and main rebel group, FARC-EP, churches were threatened and hundreds of church leaders assassinated by armed groups. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2012)
A new report looking into the “endemic phenomena” of organised crime and corruption in Latin America highlights the failure of governments to protect active Christians from violence. The inability or unwillingness of Latin American governments to stop organised crime encourages a “criminal freedom” that “makes specific sectors within society become . . . Read More

Cuba’s new leader ‘not a reformer’

Cuba’s new leader ‘not a reformer’
Raúl Castro, who replaced his brother Fidel as Cuba’s president in 2006, stepped down from the post this week, ending a decades-long rule by his family. His successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel – who up until now was the country’s first vice-president – takes on an historic leadership role by becoming the . . . Read More

5 years on, what has Pope Francis done for religious freedom?

Pope Francis greets people during his inauguration on 19 March 2013. (Photo: Getty Images)
Pope Francis, the son of Italian migrants, appeared on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica five years ago to be introduced as the first Latin American pontiff. Below, World Watch Monitor looks at a few of the highlights of his tenure so far, and his impact on freedom of religion . . . Read More

Two priests murdered in Mexico as gang attacks against religious leaders continue

Two priests murdered in Mexico as gang attacks against religious leaders continue
In the early morning of Monday 5 February, two priests were shot dead while travelling on the Iguala-Taxco highway of Mexico’s notorious Guerrero state. Fr. Germain Muñiz Garcia and Fr. Iván Añorve Jaimes, from a church in Veracruz state, were reported killed by the Catholic News Agency. Their attackers fled . . . Read More

Bolivian Christians can still evangelise … for now

Bolivia's president repealed a controversial new penal code in which evangelism alongside terrorism would be a crime. (Photo: Flickr / CC / Szymon Kochański)
After much criticism, Bolivian president Evo Morales announced earlier this week that his government would repeal a new law that seemed set to make evangelism a crime. The new penal code, adopted by Bolivia’s parliament in December, placed the “recruitment of persons for their participation in religious organisations or cults” . . . Read More