Rhina Guidos

Rhina Guidos is the Latin America regional correspondent for Global Sisters Report. She previously was a reporter and editor for Catholic News Service in Washington, D.C., and has worked at several U.S. newspapers. Guidos is the author of Rutilio Grande: A Table for All, about a Jesuit priest martyred in her native El Salvador. Follow her on Twitter at @rhina_guidos.

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Rhina Guidos es la corresponsal regional para América Latina de Global Sisters Report. Anteriormente fue reportera y editora de Catholic News Service en Washington, D.C., y ha trabajado en varios periódicos estadounidenses. Guidos es autora de Rutilio Grande: A Table for All [Rutilio Grande: Una mesa para todos], sobre un sacerdote jesuita martirizado en su El Salvador natal. Sígala en Twitter en @rhina_guidos.

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El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, left, talks with Peter K. Kilpatrick, president of The Catholic University of America, during a daylong conference on immigration the university hosted with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops April 11 in Washington.

Both Republicans and Democrats spread anti-immigrant views, says Bishop Seitz

The bishop leading the U.S. Catholic Church's response on migration issues said that both major political parties are participating in anti-immigrant sentiment in the country. 

Miguel Flores, one of the 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners sent on a plane to Washington last year, poses for a photo near the Washington Monument on Feb. 22. He said he is determined to keep fighting for democracy and "can't look the other way" when it comes to the abuses in Nicaragua. (NCR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Nicaraguan, exiled from his home country, finds community at DC parish

Miguel Flores was among 222 Nicaraguans forcibly removed from the country in 2023 and brought to the U.S. A year later, with support from parishioners at Washington's Holy Trinity Catholic Church, he is talking more about the experience.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, second from right, his wife Gabriela Rodriguez, right, running mate and Vice President Félix Ulloa, second from left, and his wife Lilian Alvarenga wave to supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace after general elections polls closed Feb. 4 in San Salvador, El Salvador. (AP photo/Moises Castillo)

El Salvador's Bukele wins second term, as Catholic religious express fear for democracy

El Salvador's president, who has waged a war against criminal gangs that has imprisoned more than 70,000 people, has won a second term. Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez spoke of St. Oscar Romero interceding for the country.

Sr. Lisa Buscher, of the Society of the Sacred Heart, shares candy with children at a migrant shelter in Mexicali, Mexico on May 9.

Hermanas piden empatía con inmigrantes, en medio de campaña electoral de EE. UU.

Religiosas y líderes de la Iglesia católica hacen un llamado a la empatía y la compasión con los inmigrantes, convertidos con frecuencia en piezas del ajedrez político estadounidense. Detrás de los 2.5 millones de detenciones en la frontera con México en 2023 —sostienen— se encuentran historias de personas que huyen de la violencia y la pobreza en sus países de origen, que buscan oportunidades en EE. UU. y que merecen que se respete su dignidad. 

Sr. Lisa Buscher, of the Society of the Sacred Heart, shares candy with children at a migrant shelter in Mexicali, Mexico on May 9.

In heated political season, sisters urge empathy on immigration

Following record-breaking crossings of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, sisters and church leaders call for Christian empathy for those fleeing their homes all over the world. 

A man pulls a cart of recycled material past a mural that says "From the heart comes peace" in Bogotá, Colombia, Nov. 22. Though 2016 peace accords put an end to the decadeslong conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government, Colombia's poorest, many in rural communities, still suffer violence, said Dominican Sr. Diana Herrera Castañeda. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Religiosas ofrecen "oportunidades para la vida" a víctimas del conflicto armado en Colombia

Con su presencia en poblados que todavía sufren a causa del conflicto armado en Colombia, las hermanas católicas contribuyen al proceso de paz mediante el acompañamiento. A través de proyectos productivos, como la costura y la panadería, proporcionan un espacio para que las víctimas compartan sus experiencias y encuentren oportunidades de vida.

A man pulls a cart of recycled material past a mural that says "From the heart comes peace" in Bogotá, Colombia, Nov. 22. Though 2016 peace accords put an end to the decadeslong conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government, Colombia's poorest, many in rural communities, still suffer violence, said Dominican Sr. Diana Herrera Castañeda. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

In Colombia's conflict, women religious provide 'opportunities for life'

With their ministries and presence in towns that continue to suffer from Colombia's 50-year-long conflict, nuns contribute to the peace process through accompaniment.

Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, delivers his homily as he celebrates a special Mass in honor of the Black Christ of Esquipulas, Guatemala, Jan. 5, 2020, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. (CNS/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Support for Guatemala's Cardinal Ramazzini flows in wake of arrest rumors

Latin American Catholic leaders and groups are lining up to support a Guatemalan cardinal rumored to be a target for arrest after voicing fears that a coup may prevent Guatemala's president-elect from being sworn in. 

Participants of the IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Religious Life gathered in small groups Nov. 24 on the campus of La Salle University in Bogotá, Colombia, to talk about their experiences in consecrated life. While they gathered and dialogued much in the style practiced at October’s synod on synodality at the Vatican, some said it is a style religious communities have long used. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Religiosos latinoamericanos instan a renovar las estructuras de la Iglesia

Al dar la bienvenida en Bogotá, Colombia, a los participantes al IV Congreso Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Vida Religiosa de la CLAR, la hermana Liliana Franco Echeverri, su presidenta, expresó que sus "estructuras están urgidas de renovación", porque "hay estructuras que asfixian y modos de proceder que niegan lo que es humano".

Participants of the IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Religious Life gathered in small groups Nov. 24 on the campus of La Salle University in Bogotá, Colombia, to talk about their experiences in consecrated life. While they gathered and dialogued much in the style practiced at October’s synod on synodality at the Vatican, some said it is a style religious communities have long used. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

In Bogotá, Latin America religious urge renewal of church structures

In welcoming attendees of CLAR's IV Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Religious Life, CLAR president Sr. Liliana Franco Echeverri said that "our structures are in need of renewal," because "there are structures that suffocate and ways of proceeding that deny what is human."

Capuchin Poor Clare Srs. Maria Elena Romero, left, and Maria de la Luz Solorio, pray the Liturgy of the Hours Sept. 27 at the Veronica Giuliani Monastery in Wilmington, Delaware. Contemplative life will participate in spirit and pray for those present at the synod so that all voices are heard, said Romero. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Hermanas contemplativas, presentes en el Sínodo a través de la oración

Desde el convento de las Hermanas Clarisas Capuchinas en Wilmington, EE. UU., un grupo de hermanas contemplativas se une al Sínodo a través de la oración, irradiando una fuerza espiritual que trasciende las paredes del claustro.

Capuchin Poor Clare Srs. Maria Elena Romero, left, and Maria de la Luz Solorio, pray the Liturgy of the Hours Sept. 27 at the Veronica Giuliani Monastery in Wilmington, Delaware. Contemplative life will participate in spirit and pray for those present at the synod so that all voices are heard, said Romero. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Behind the cloister, contemplative sisters say they're present at synod through prayer

Contemplative sisters participate in the Synod of Bishops from afar through prayer.

Former Irish President Mary McAleese speaks at the Spirit Unbounded event at Rome's Casa Bonus Pastor on Oct. 13. (NCR photo/Joshua J. McElwee)

At events inside and outside Vatican's synod hall, focus on women's equality

Even as Catholic women take a historic step as voting members of the Synod of Bishops, former Irish President Mary McAleese slammed the Vatican Oct. 13 in a parallel gathering in Rome calling for more equality for women.

A woman gathers her belongings in front of a mural of Joseph and Mary at the CAFEMIN migrant shelter in Mexico City, Aug. 24. Sr. María Soledad Morales Ríos, one of the Josephine sisters whose congregation operates the shelter, said their charism is to care for the poor, including migrants, the way Joseph and Mary cared for Jesus. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

A medida que los albergues se llenan de migrantes, las hermanas de Ciudad de México ofrecen "otra Nazaret"

Pese al desborde de los albergues en la ruta migratoria desde Sudamérica hasta EE.UU, unas religiosas católicas de Ciudad de México, las Hermanas Josefinas, siguen recibiendo migrantes en su centro de acogida (Cafemin), donde la demanda pasó de 40 a 800 personas diarias.

Mercy Sister Angela Perez, of Guam, poses for a photo Oct. 6 outside Paul VI Hall before the start of the third day of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City. Seeing the pope at a roundtable, like other participants, gives her the sensation that she's witnessing the "dismantling of the hierarchical," she told Global Sisters Report. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Hermanas presentes en el Sínodo perciben un "desmantelamiento de la jerarquía"

Dos hermanas católicas que asisten al Sínodo de la Sinodalidad observan cambios profundos en la Iglesia, marcados por un estilo de liderazgo diferente y una apertura a voces diversas —distintas a las de los obispos y a la del papa—, guiadas por el Espíritu Santo.

Loreto Sr. Patricia Murray, executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General, waits outside Paul VI Hall at the Vatican before the start of the synod on Oct. 4.

El Sínodo puede señalar un cambio de poder en la Iglesia

Escuchar es una palabra clave en el Sínodo sobre Sinodalidad impulsado por el papa Francisco, pero también es una forma de "cambiar la sensación de que la verdad reside en la cima de la jerarquía" en cualquier estructura eclesiástica, asevera la Hna. Patricia Murray. 

 

Mercy Sister Angela Perez, of Guam, poses for a photo Oct. 6 outside Paul VI Hall before the start of the third day of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City. Seeing the pope at a roundtable, like other participants, gives her the sensation that she's witnessing the "dismantling of the hierarchical," she told Global Sisters Report. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Sisters at Vatican synod see 'dismantling of the hierarchical'

Two Catholic sisters taking part in Pope Francis' summit on the church's future told GSR the synod is different than expected. "I'm experiencing and witnessing the dismantling of the hierarchical," said Mercy Sr. Angela Perez.

Loreto Sr. Patricia Murray, executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General, waits outside Paul VI Hall at the Vatican before the start of the synod on Oct. 4.

Synod's focus on listening may signal power shift in Catholic Church, says sister

Sr. Patricia Murray said that Pope Francis' process for the synod on synodality is helping "shift the feeling that the truth resides at the top of the hierarchy."

A woman gathers her belongings in front of a mural of Joseph and Mary at the CAFEMIN migrant shelter in Mexico City, Aug. 24. Sr. María Soledad Morales Ríos, one of the Josephine sisters whose congregation operates the shelter, said their charism is to care for the poor, including migrants, the way Joseph and Mary cared for Jesus. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

As shelters squeeze in migrants, sisters in Mexico City offer 'another Nazareth'

The increase in migration has shelters along the route at capacity, but places such as CAFEMIN in Mexico City, run by the Josephine sisters, are among the few stops where migrants are still welcomed, despite overcrowding.

Participants in the Oct. 3 "Let Her Voice Carry" prayer vigil hosted by women's ordination advocates at Rome's Basilica of St. Praxedes. (NCR photo/Rhina Guidos)

On eve of synod, women's ordination advocates hold vigil at Rome's Basilica of St. Praxedes

Advocates for women's ordination in the Catholic Church hosted a prayer vigil at one of Rome's historic basilicas on Oct. 3, on the eve of Pope Francis' opening of a major Vatican summit expected to consider whether women might serve as Catholic deacons or priests.

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