Latest news with #Catholics
TimesLIVE
13 hours ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Legacy of past hangs over anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland
At the outset of the "Troubles", some Catholics and Protestants were violently forced from their homes in areas where they were in the minority, and sectarian attacks remained common through three decades of violence and the imperfect peace that followed. "Sectarianism and racism have never been very different from each other," said Dominic Bryan, a professor at Queens University Belfast who researches group identity and political violence. "It doesn't totally surprise me that as society changes and Northern Ireland has become a very different society than it was 30 years ago, that some of this 'out grouping' shifts," Bryan said, adding such prejudices could also be seen among Irish nationalists. Immigration has historically been low in Northern Ireland, where the years of conflict bred an insular society unused to assimilating outsiders. There are other factors at play too, said Bryan. The towns involved all have big economic problems, sub-standard housing and rely on healthcare and industries such as meat packing and manufacturing that need an increasing migrant workforce. "The people around here, they're literally at a boiling point," said Ballymena resident Neil Brammeld. The town's diverse culture was welcomed and everybody got along, he said, but for problems with "a select few". "The people have been complaining for months and months leading up to this and the police are nowhere to be seen." While around 6% of people in the province were born abroad, with those belonging to ethnic minority groups about half that, the foreign-born population in Ballymena is much higher, in line with the UK average of 16%. Northern Ireland does not have specific hate crime legislation, though some race-related incidents can be prosecuted as part of wider laws. Justice minister Naomi Long pledged last year to boost the existing provisions but said the power-sharing government would not have enough time to introduce a standalone hate crime bill before the next election in 2027. While five successive nights of violence mostly came to an end on Saturday, the effects continue to be felt. "I'm determined I'm not going to be chased away from my home," said Ivanka Antova, an organiser of an anti-racism rally in Belfast on Saturday, who moved to Belfast from Bulgaria 15 years ago. "Racism will not win."
20 hours ago
- General
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after day break and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are 'a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a 'structurally perverse' economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of 'filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the U.N. Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue — perched on the Corcovado mountain -- is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after day break and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are 'a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a 'structurally perverse' economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of 'filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the U.N. Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue — perched on the Corcovado mountain -- is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south. This week heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- General
- Toronto Star
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colorful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps. Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. 'These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet,' said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. 'It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition.' Just after day break and before the first flock of tourists arrived Thursday, Cardinal Orani João Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are 'a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer,' Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a 'structurally perverse' economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of 'filth' in the process. 'The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the U.N. Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue,' said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue — perched on the Corcovado mountain — is itself located in the Tijuca National Park. Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south. This week heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
