Day: March 11, 2026

Mexican Catholics protect churches amid women’s day protest vandalism #Catholic –

(OSV News) — The Mexican bishops’ conference expressed dismay with a spate of vandalism against churches in the country — including a parish church dating to the 17th century — during marches for International Women’s Day, saying, “Mexico needs justice and peace, not more violence.”

“We hope that these demonstrations will help to highlight the urgent need to address the legitimate demands of so many women more effectively, both by the authorities responsible for guaranteeing their safety and by those responsible for administering justice,” the bishops said in a March 9 statement signed by the conference’s president, Bishop Ramón Castro Castro of Cuernavaca, and its secretary general, Auxiliary Bishop Héctor Pérez Villarreal of Mexico City.

“Churches are places of prayer, encounter, and solace for thousands of people, especially for those seeking spiritual comfort after suffering injustice. Hence, we find the violence directed toward these places of hope and peace deeply troubling as violence will never lead to peace,” the statement continued. “May the pain suffered by women not divide us, but rather inspire us to seek paths of justice, dialogue, encounter, and fraternity.”

The bishops expressed sorrow for the vandalism at the Sagrario Metropolitano parish church in the north-central city of San Luis Potosí — known popularly as “Templo de la Compañía” – which was built in the 17th century and was being restored. Social media videos showed the church doors on fire and the building later graffitied.

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“It pains us to see buildings and iconic areas mistreated and they shouldn’t be,” Archbishop Jorge Alberto Cavazos Arizpe of San Luis Potosí told local media. “But, as Jesus said, an offense against a person, however small, will always be much more serious. And women have been very mistreated. … That’s why they continue to speak out about something that keeps happening.”

The archbishop added that young people from the archdiocesan family ministry tried to protect the church, but were acting on their own.

Father Jorge Aurelio Ramírez Torres celebrated Mass in front of the church for the parish community on March 9. The archdiocese announced a Mass of reparation to be celebrated March 11.

Catholics across Mexico joined hands outside cathedrals and parish churches to prevent vandalism at the women’s marches, which have targeted churches and government buildings, according to social media posts. Many Catholics online expressed anger at the destruction and disrespect for the Church.

Vandalism can occur at protests in Mexico as some in the demonstration break windows, graffiti buildings and clash with police–– acts that analysts say are sometimes carried out by non-affilitated persons infiltrating the manifestations to discredit the cause.

Marches for International Women’s Day unfolded across Mexico on March 8 as women demonstrated against a series of indignities, including workplace discrimination, groping on public transit and the murders of women and girls — an atrocity known as femicide, which occurs 10 times daily, according to human rights groups.

Mexico elected its first female president in 2024 — Claudia Sheinbaum — while gender parity rules require equal numbers of men and women in Congress and institutions such as the supreme court. But Catholic leaders recognized the societal shortcomings still facing women.

“The demonstrations and protests we witnessed yesterday remind us of a reality we cannot ignore: thousands of women in our country continue to cry out for justice, safety, and respect for their dignity,” the bishops’ statement said. “As a Church, we echo their cries and stand in solidarity with those who have suffered such violence.”

Participants in previous demonstrations demanded the decriminalization of abortion, which happened with a 2021 supreme court decision. Mexico’s bishops denounced that decision, which decriminalized abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, as “murderous.”

Violence has gripped Mexico for the past two decades as the government cracked down on drug cartels and criminal groups battled each other in turf wars.

The Catholic Church has not been spared from Mexico’s violence. A priest in southern Chiapas state, Father Juan Manuel Zavala Madrigal, was found dead on March 9, having gone missing after celebrating a Mass the night before in an outlying village in the municipality of Ocotepec.

TV Azteca reported the priest’s backpack was found in a different location from his body and his cassock and other priestly garments were found on the ground alongside his car, which was abandoned near an ecological park.

David Agren writes for OSV News from Buenos Aires.

– (OSV News) — The Mexican bishops’ conference expressed dismay with a spate of vandalism against churches in the country — including a parish church dating to the 17th century — during marches for International Women’s Day, saying, “Mexico needs justice and peace, not more violence.” “We hope that these demonstrations will help to highlight the urgent need to address the legitimate demands of so many women more effectively, both by the authorities responsible for guaranteeing their safety and by those responsible for administering justice,” the bishops said in a March 9 statement signed by the conference’s president, Bishop Ramón Castro

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As humanitarian crisis looms in Lebanon, Mideast Christians face uncertain future #Catholic –

(OSV News) — Lebanon has been gripped by panic and internal displacement crisis following Israeli evacuation orders as part of the U.S. and Israel–Iran war, with the country coming to reflect the growing pressure on Middle Eastern Christians, raising fears the conflict could force many to leave the region permanently.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah and ongoing clashes, along with mass evacuation orders, have forced Christians across Lebanon to flee, leaving many homeless. Hezbollah joined Iran in the fighting despite a prohibition from the Lebanese government.

According to the United Nations, nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon, south Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley as they seek refuge in Beirut. The violence has also killed more than 80 children.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned on March 6 of a “looming humanitarian disaster” after Israel ordered mass evacuations March 5 in south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. He said Lebanon has been dragged into a devastating war it did not choose.

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The economically stricken country is still recovering from the last war between Israel and Hezbollah ending in 2024.

Michael Constatin, CNEWA Pontifical Mission’s regional director for Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, told OSV News that his organization is ministering to Christians who remain in the south, caught in the crosshairs between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, and to those who are now displaced in the Beirut area. It also helps people of other faiths.

Speaking about Christians in the southern areas of Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and Al-Mashhad, Constantin said: “They have all decided to stay to protect their homes. But those in Al-Mashhad were forced to evacuate their homes on March 10 and come to Beirut. Very few remain in that village. These people could be killed.”

“In Rmaich in Bint Jbail, there are 1,300 Christian families who have taken in another 300 Christian families displaced from other villages. They are surrounded by the Israeli army and by shelling. The village situation is very harsh,” he said, underscoring the danger.

CNEWA is providing this area and Marjayoun with fuel to empower water purification and generate power for cellphones and the internet to be able to communicate.

“People are afraid for attacks on these Christian villages,” Constatin explained, recounting at least three violent incidents involving Catholic clerics’ families in the south, including the killing of Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest Father Pierre al-Rahi in Qlayaa, Marjayoun, by Israeli artillery tank fire on March 9. Father al-Rahi refused to leave the village, protecting his community.

“This has made Christians very anxious, not knowing whether to stay or not,” the CNEWA head said, adding that this puts more pressure on Christians caught between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.

“If they leave immediately, some Hezbollah members will hide in their villages and their homes, and all the villages will be completely destroyed.”

Meanwhile, CNEWA is aiding the displaced in Beirut with food coupons. Some 750 Christian families have now fled there. However, Constantin points out that they could soon be joined by an additional 3,000 more Christian families escaping fighting in the south as the humanitarian crisis grows.

Iraqi Christians are also coming under growing pressure as a result of the U.S. and Israel-Iran war. An explosive drone strike on the Chaldean Catholic complex in Ankawa, outside of Irbil took place on March 4, luckily damaging only the chapel and a block of apartments. “We thank God for the safety of everyone,” Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar M. Warda told OSV News.

“When war erupts in the Middle East, we face another erosion, fast or slow. Do we stay? Do our children have a future?” Archbishop Warda further commented to the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need.

A U.S. military base near Irbil Airport has come under multiple drone attacks, while the United Arab Emirates consulate and a hotel frequented by foreigners in Irbil were also attacked by drones.

Father Emanuel Youkhana, a priest, or archimandrite, of the Assyrian Church of the East, who aids Christians and other Iraqi minorities in northern Iraq, told OSV News that the “situation in Irbil is escalating because of the American logistic base attached to the airport and the American consul in Irbil.”

“The Christian town of Ankawa is close to the airport and near the area of targeting. So, the church complex and the hotel were vulnerable to these attacks. North of Irbil is the American military base, Harir Air Base, and in the area are the camps of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups which especially became targets,” Father Youkhana explained.

“Both Iran and the Iranian-backed Shiite militias of Iraq carry out these attacks,” he said. “This is the concern that it can form the basis for internal conflict in the country.”

Father Youkhana said there are fears that Christians will once again face displacement. They were forced to flee their ancestral homeland of the Nineveh Plain in 2014 — after the brutal Islamic State group invasion — and the latest war evokes painful memories and trauma.

“Should the violence escalate, there are fears that this could lead to the displacement of Christians in Ankawa to seek refuge further north. And further south in the Nineveh Plain from where these Iran-backed militias are now operating.”

If Israel and/or the U.S. were to attack this area, once Iraq’s Christian heartland, “Christians would be forced to flee north to Dohuk,” the priest explained.

“In crisis times, vulnerable communities, like Christians, suffer more and feel greater uncertainty,” said Father Youkhana.

Dale Gavlak writes for OSV News from Amman, Jordan.

– (OSV News) — Lebanon has been gripped by panic and internal displacement crisis following Israeli evacuation orders as part of the U.S. and Israel–Iran war, with the country coming to reflect the growing pressure on Middle Eastern Christians, raising fears the conflict could force many to leave the region permanently. Heavy Israeli airstrikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah and ongoing clashes, along with mass evacuation orders, have forced Christians across Lebanon to flee, leaving many homeless. Hezbollah joined Iran in the fighting despite a prohibition from the Lebanese government. According to the United Nations, nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from southern

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