By Tobias Käufer (KNA) Record drug finds in harbours in the Netherlands and Belgium, record production in Colombia. Plus almost weekly reports of violence in Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina. In Latin America, the power of the drug cartels appears to be increasing all the time. Now one of the most prominent heads of the Catholic…

In Poland, the Catholic Church is struggling with adversity in society and politics. It is therefore speaking out strongly against the new centre-left government, particularly with regard to its family policy, writes Oliver Hinz Warsaw (KNA) In January, the priestly profession in Poland often resembles a back-breaking job. Day after day, priests go from house…

Dakar (KNA) Human rights activists have called on Senegal to comply with fair conditions for the presidential election on 25 February. Instead, Senegal’s authorities are cracking down on the opposition, media and civil society in the run-up to the elections, criticised the human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday. According to the opposition…

Warsaw (KNA) The Catholic Church in Poland is intervening in the conflict between two imprisoned politicians from the right-wing conservative opposition party PiS and the new government in Warsaw. The Bishops’ Conference announced on Wednesday evening that its chairman, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, had written to both politicians offering to lobby Justice Minister Adam Bodnar for…

Berlin (KNA) The German Child Protection Association has criticised Pope Francis for his comments on the beating of children. “There is no justification for beating children, not even a papal one,” said Daniel Grein, Federal Director of the Child Protection Association, in Berlin on Tuesday. Anyone who physically abuses a child is doing the wrong…

Geneva (KNA) The Swiss daily newspaper “Le Temps” accuses the traditionalist Catholic Fraternity of St Pius X of serious shortcomings in dealing with abuse. After months of research in several countries, the paper says it has compiled numerous cases of physical, sexual and psychological abuse within the ranks of the Fraternity. An article published at…

Berlin (KNA) The five richest men in the world have more than doubled their wealth since 2020. According to an Oxfam study published on Monday, these five men had a fortune of 405 billion US dollars in 2020. This figure has now risen to USD 869 billion. All billionaires have increased their wealth by USD…

Berlin (KNA) The Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR) is calling for a long-term strategy for war refugees from Ukraine. Temporary protection will end for them in March 2025, said Jan Schneider, Head of Research at the SVR, in Berlin on Thursday. Sustainable follow-up solutions are needed, “otherwise several million people in Europe may…

Paris (KNA) The French Bishops’ Conference is unanimously in favour of the Vatican document on the blessing of homosexual couples. The declaration issued by the Vatican’s authority on the faith in December is seen as an encouragement to priests to “generously bless those who turn to them and humbly ask for God’s help”, according to…