Iva Mihailova, from Sofia

PUBLIC ANGER

Over the last period every Sunday the centre of Sofia has been blocked by street protests. Several groups demonstrate in front of the Parliament, each holding the Bulgarian flag. Most of them have decided to take to the streets against the high living costs caused by the rise in fuel prices and car taxes, but […]

TESTIMONY

“It all began when I was 6 years old. One day, mother had brought us to school but we were picked up by our father, which had never happened before. When we asked about our mother, he told us she had left.” It’s the moment of storytelling at the World Forum for Democracy, held at […]

TESTIMONY

Stojan is a village on the southernmost area of my diocese. I was there a few weeks ago on the occasion of the Patronal feast, the feast of Saint John of Capestrano (October 23). I also confirmed seven children. Inside the church, there were twenty people at the most. It’s a very small church, rebuilt […]

DEBATE

Power is the matter at stake. But it’s more than that, since gender equality at the World Forum for Democracy that opened in Strasbourg on November 19 tackled a wide range of issues. “Equality in political representation is a condition for democracy”, argued Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, presenting a […]

CELEBRATIONS

Reaffirming the five pillars of Polish community life – faith, conscience, memory of the past, culture and politics – ensures “the Country’s stable future.” The commemorations of the past, notably the celebrations marking Poland’s 100 years of independence, thus served as an occasion to reaffirm the need for stability in a divided Poland. The quote […]

LETTER

“As bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, we want to address one particularly destructive and persistent form of evil. Despite many promising strides made in our country, racism still infects our nation.” These are the opening lines of the directive: “Open wide our hearts: the enduring call to love. A pastoral letter […]

COMMUNICATION

What does Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard have to say about the social media domain, to the post-truth universe,  to algorithms that create or identify fake news? In the era of polarization, of communication bubbles and e-economy, can a mid-19th century thinker impart lessons to news media outlets? The Sacred Heart Catholic University and St. John’s […]

POLITICAL LIFE

“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”: May prefers to play it safe after last evening’S green light to the Brexit deal given by the British government. At the end of a five-hour meeting Premier Theresa May won Cabinet support and will address Parliament today. The 595-page document drafted by negotiators on both sides “covers […]

MIGRANT RECEPTION

(from Baltimore) Mons. Daniel Flores is the bishop of the diocese of Brownsville, Texas. The major border detention and reception centres for migrants are located on the territory of his diocese. In the past weeks he refused to grant a permission for inspection of Church property since the Federal agency was inspecting sites to expand […]

ASSEMBLY

(from Baltimore) Bishops answered in real time the questions posed on Facebook by the faithful and by all those interested in the themes broached by the US Bishops’ Conference gathered in Baltimore for the past days. It’s the novelty of the 2018 meeting. Yesterday, at 19:00, upon the conclusion of a day of debates and […]