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  • Dominican Republic opens Latin America and Caribbean Week at UNESCO

    Dominican Republic opens Latin America and Caribbean Week at UNESCO

    PARIS — A major new regional cultural gathering kicked off this week at UNESCO’s iconic Paris headquarters, with Dominican Republic’s Culture Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo leading the inaugural ceremony for 2026 Latin America and Caribbean Week. The landmark four-day event, running from June 2 to 5 under the organizational leadership of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), gathers cultural delegates, community leaders, and industry stakeholders from across 33 countries in the region to advance cross-cultural exchange, collaborative cultural policy, and culture-centered sustainable development. Over the course of the event, attendees will engage with a diverse program spanning visual art exhibitions, gastronomic showcases, film screenings, academic roundtables, and creative industry networking sessions.

    In his opening address to delegates and UNESCO officials, Minister Salcedo centered his remarks on the unifying threads and remarkable diversity that define Latin America and the Caribbean. He framed the region as a dynamic, living tapestry of overlapping histories, Indigenous knowledge, and evolving identities forged through centuries of cultural exchange. Turning the spotlight to his home country, he highlighted the Dominican Republic’s globally celebrated cultural legacy, spotlighting five traditions formally inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List: the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit of the Congos of Villa Mella, the traditional performance practice of the Guloyas of San Pedro de Macorís, the iconic national dances of merengue and bachata, and the centuries-old traditional knowledge tied to producing and enjoying casabe, or cassava bread.

    Salcedo went on to reaffirm the critical role of cultural preservation and exchange as a foundational driver of global peace, inclusive social cohesion, and long-term sustainable development. He also credited UNESCO with its decades-long leadership in protecting vulnerable cultural heritage sites and practices across the world. A key announcement during his address was the formal promotion of the Dominican Republic’s candidacy for a seat on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the 2027–2031 term. This influential governing body is tasked with reviewing new global heritage nominations, monitoring the conservation status of existing inscribed sites, and setting global standards for heritage protection.

    To mark the opening of the week, the Dominican Republic debuted a special exhibition of traditional carnival hand-carved masks, each originating from distinct regions across the country. The curated display traces the blended origins of Dominican national identity, illustrating how Indigenous, African, and European cultural influences have merged over centuries to create the country’s distinct, rich cultural landscape that endures today. The event will wrap up on June 5 with the annual Caribbean Day celebration, a full day of programming dedicated to highlighting the region’s dynamic music, contemporary and traditional dance, authentic culinary traditions, and fast-growing creative sectors.

    For the Dominican Republic, this high-profile participation in one of the region’s most influential cultural forums does more than showcase its cultural offerings: it further solidifies the country’s standing as a premier cultural destination across the Caribbean, and demonstrates its expanding commitment to global collaborative efforts to protect, preserve, and promote shared cultural heritage for future generations.

  • Dominican Republic competes for top Caribbean destination honor at Wave Awards

    Dominican Republic competes for top Caribbean destination honor at Wave Awards

    The Caribbean’s tourism landscape continues to see the Dominican Republic emerge as a standout contender, with the nation and a roster of leading hospitality brands operating within its borders picking up an array of prestigious nominations for the 2026 Wave Awards. Organized by TravelAge West, a leading trade publication serving the North American travel advisor community, the annual awards recognize excellence across the global travel and hospitality sector.

    One of the most high-profile nods for the Dominican Republic comes in the category for Caribbean Destination with the Highest Visitor Satisfaction, a nomination that reaffirms the country’s long-standing reputation as a top-tier leisure spot in the region. This recognition underscores the consistent work the nation has put into elevating visitor experiences and cementing its position as a go-to choice for international travelers seeking Caribbean getaways.

    Beyond the national destination nomination, a number of the Dominican Republic’s top properties have earned spots on the shortlist for Best New or Renovated Resort in the Caribbean. These include three standout properties: Club Med Punta Cana, Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa, and the adults-only all-inclusive W Punta Cana.

    Major hotel groups with extensive footprints across the Dominican Republic have also racked up nominations across a range of brand-focused categories, which cover everything from top all-inclusive operators to leading options for romantic getaways and family vacations. The full list of nominated brands includes Club Med, Hyatt Inclusive Collection, Majestic Resorts, Meliá Hotels International, Princess Hotels & Resorts, The Excellence Collection, plus a suite of family-focused hospitality names: Dreams Resorts & Spas, Finest Resorts, Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Ziva, and Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts.

    Unlike many industry awards that rely on public voting, Wave Awards recipients are chosen through a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation process led by TravelAge West’s experienced editorial team. The selection process combines on-site property inspections, in-depth product reviews, surveys of professional travel advisors, and comprehensive market analysis to ensure winners represent the highest standard of quality in the industry. All winners are set to be revealed during a black-tie gala ceremony scheduled for June 4 in Los Angeles, where the leading names in travel will gather to celebrate this year’s top performers.

  • Department of Culture Pays Tribute to Dr. Renee Smith’s Lasting Legacy in Music and Youth Development

    Department of Culture Pays Tribute to Dr. Renee Smith’s Lasting Legacy in Music and Youth Development

    The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda is united in grief this week as the Department of Culture officially confirms the death of one of its most beloved cultural leaders, Dr. Renee Smith. A trailblazing music educator, celebrated choir director, fierce youth advocate, and respected international cultural ambassador, Dr. Smith built a decades-long legacy that has permanently shaped the trajectory of music and performing arts across the country, leaving an enduring impression on multiple generations of artists and community members.

    For more than 30 years, Dr. Smith centered her work on expanding access to high-quality music education and growing the national choral community, both within the Department of Culture and through community partnerships across Antigua and Barbuda. When she took the helm as Director of the National Youth Choir in 2005, she transformed the program into a hub not just for musical training, but for holistic youth development. Under her guidance, hundreds of young singers didn’t just master vocal technique and performance; they learned critical life skills including self-discipline, public confidence, collaborative leadership, and a deep sense of national pride, all nurtured through the shared experience of making art.

    Her leadership propelled the National Youth Choir onto the regional stage, where the ensemble earned acclaim representing Antigua and Barbuda at multiple editions of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA). She led the group to performances at CARIFESTA X in Guyana (2008), CARIFESTA XI in Suriname (2013), and CARIFESTA XIV in Trinidad and Tobago (2019), where she ensured the nation’s unique musical talent and distinct cultural identity were presented with exceptional professionalism and distinction to audiences from across the Caribbean and beyond.

    Dr. Smith’s impact stretched far beyond the rehearsal walls of the National Youth Choir. A tireless champion for youth empowerment across all sectors, she was also a widely respected voice in international music academia, regularly sharing her expertise with peers and students at local, regional, and global events. On behalf of the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Culture, she collaborated on cultural and music initiatives in Dominica, the United Kingdom, and Trinidad and Tobago, where her contributions earned consistent recognition and praise from partner institutions and fellow arts professionals.

    A lifelong believer in continuous learning and personal growth, Dr. Smith’s perseverance and dedication culminated in her completion of a Doctoral Degree later in her career, a milestone that stood as a testament to her unwavering commitment to self-improvement and excellence. For colleagues, students, and community members alike, she served as a lifelong inspiration, embodying core values of hard work, humble service, and persistent dedication to lifting up others through the arts.

    Today, Dr. Smith’s legacy continues to echo through the voices of every singer she trained, the countless lives she guided, and the strong cultural foundations she helped build for Antigua and Barbuda. Industry leaders agree her transformative influence on the nation’s music ecosystem and youth development sector will endure for decades to come.

    In a formal statement released this week, the Department of Culture extended its deepest condolences to Dr. Smith’s family, close friends, former students, professional colleagues, and all people whose lives were changed by her wisdom, gentle kindness, and unshakable passion for the arts. The department joined the nation in asking for peaceful rest for Dr. Smith’s soul.

  • Can a lawyer serve 2 masters?

    Can a lawyer serve 2 masters?

    As Managing Partner of K C Legal Consultancy, Kevon K K Charles draws on years of frontline legal practice to unpack a growing tension at the heart of modern transactional law, particularly within the Caribbean legal landscape. For legal practitioners, scenarios that demand navigating conflicting duties are far from uncommon: a client brings a clear, straightforward transactional instruction, expecting their attorney to advance their goals, yet independent of the client relationship, a separate set of binding legal obligations requires lawyers to step beyond their role as a mere advocate for the client’s agenda. This conflict, Charles argues, is where the modern attorney’s most persistent professional challenge begins.

    The core identity of the legal profession has long been anchored to four non-negotiable foundational principles: unwavering loyalty to a client’s interests, strict protection of client confidentiality, preservation of independent professional judgment, and upholding legal professional privilege. These are not hollow theoretical concepts; they form the bedrock of trust that allows clients to speak openly to their legal advisors, disclose sensitive information, and seek guidance without fear of exposure. In recent decades, however, this traditional framework has been layered with an ever-expanding web of regulatory compliance obligations, most acutely felt in transactional work spanning property transfers, corporate structuring, and cross-border or domestic fund movements.

    Regulators now expect attorneys to conduct due diligence, ask targeted questions about transaction origins and intentions, and in some cases report suspicious activity to relevant authorities – obligations that do not stem from a client’s retainer, and that often exist in tension with traditional duties of loyalty and confidentiality. In practice, this conflict is rarely black and white. A transaction may appear fully legitimate on its face, the client may be a longstanding contact the attorney has worked with for years, and the corporate or property structure may be entirely conventional. Still, a subtle red flag can demand that an attorney pause, step back from advancing the transaction, and conduct further inquiry – a position that is rarely comfortable for either the practitioner or the client.

    This tension creates a two-pronged reality that all modern transactional attorneys must grapple with. First, practitioners are bound by strict rules of professional conduct laid out in the Legal Profession Act, which require attorneys to act with integrity, maintain independent judgment, and avoid facilitating unlawful or improper conduct. This means an attorney is never simply a passive conduit for a client’s instructions; they bear an independent responsibility to assess whether a transaction is legally proper, not just whether it can be executed.

    The second core consideration, and one that lies at the heart of public trust in the legal profession, is client confidentiality. For legal practice to function, clients must be able to speak freely and openly with their attorneys about every detail of their affairs. Without this guarantee of trust, an attorney’s ability to provide thorough, accurate legal advice is fundamentally undermined. The challenge of modern regulation, Charles explains, is that growing compliance expectations now operate alongside this longstanding principle. These new rules do not eliminate the protection of legal professional privilege, but they do demand that attorneys develop a far clearer understanding of where privilege ends and regulatory obligations begin.

    Many clients naturally ask: can information shared with my attorney still remain confidential? Charles confirms the answer remains yes – but it is no longer an unqualified absolute. The attorney-client relationship is still rooted in trust, but it now operates within a regulatory framework that imposes enforceable duties that extend beyond the bilateral client-lawyer relationship.

    In the Caribbean context, this balancing act is uniquely delicate. As Charles notes in his ongoing series of articles on wealth, property and regulation in the region, many Caribbean transactions grow out of decades-long personal and professional relationships, often built on informal arrangements and legacy structures that have evolved organically over generations. Information and arrangements that are universally understood within a family or local community do not always easily translate into the documented, verifiable proof that modern compliance frameworks require. This does not make the transactions improper, but it does demand a level of due diligence and care that was not required of Caribbean attorneys in decades past.

    Charles concludes by addressing the core question this tension raises: can attorneys truly serve two competing sets of obligations, or must the profession adapt to a new normal? Contrary to the framing of this conflict as serving two masters, Charles argues that modern practice simply requires attorneys to accept that both sets of obligations now exist side by side, and that the role of the contemporary attorney is to navigate this balance carefully. While this is rarely an easy position to occupy, it is one that is becoming increasingly familiar across the Caribbean legal sector, as regulation evolves to meet global standards.

    This analysis forms part of a continuing series examining the evolving intersection of wealth, property ownership, and regulatory compliance across the Caribbean. NOW Grenada notes that it is not responsible for the opinions and statements shared by contributing authors, and invites readers to report any abusive content via official channels.

  • WEATHER (12:00 PM, May 30): Tropical wave to bring cloudiness, and scattered showers

    WEATHER (12:00 PM, May 30): Tropical wave to bring cloudiness, and scattered showers

    Meteorological forecasts point to an approaching tropical wave that will bring targeted weather shifts to the Lesser Antilles archipelago over the coming 12 to 24 hours, with the most pronounced impacts expected to hit island territories located south of the island chain. For the island of Dominica specifically, forecasters project a noticeable uptick in cloud cover beginning this afternoon and continuing through overnight hours, paired with scattered, unevenly distributed shower activity. Consistent breezy conditions will remain a constant feature of the local weather throughout this period, forecasters add.

    Beyond the tropical wave’s impacts, a persistent plume of Saharan dust already hanging over the region will not dissipate any time soon. Current projections indicate that dust concentrations will climb even higher starting Sunday, creating elevated air quality risks for vulnerable populations. Health officials are urging people with pre-existing respiratory sensitivities and conditions to remain vigilant and proactively take precautions to prevent potentially dangerous respiratory complications.

    For marine interests across the region, forecasts call for slight to moderate sea conditions over the next 24 hours. Wave height projections put swells along the western coast at roughly 3 feet, while eastern coastlines can expect higher swells reaching up to 5 feet. Due to haze associated with the incoming Saharan dust that can cut down on visibility, operators of small craft are warned to exercise extra caution when navigating local waters to avoid safety incidents.

  • Saharan dust and an anticyclonic system will keep the weather hot this Sunday

    Saharan dust and an anticyclonic system will keep the weather hot this Sunday

    The Dominican Institute of Meteorology (Indomet) has issued a detailed multi-day weather forecast confirming that two major atmospheric forces — vast plumes of Saharan dust and a stable high-pressure anticyclonic circulation system — will shape conditions across most of the Dominican Republic through the start of this week, with the Atlantic hurricane season set to officially launch on Monday, June 1.

    For Sunday, the national weather service forecasts predominantly sunny but hazy conditions across the island, with the haze driven directly by the incoming Saharan dust particles carried across the Atlantic. Only a small handful of inland and eastern provinces — including La Altagracia, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, and Santiago Rodríguez — are expected to see isolated brief showers, triggered by wind shifts and daytime heating that fuels limited convective activity.

    Despite the persistent haze and above-warm temperatures, Indomet notes that overall conditions will remain suitable for most outdoor recreational and daily activities. That said, the agency has issued public health guidance to help residents cope with the hot, dusty conditions: it recommends that all people stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day, opt for loose, light-colored lightweight clothing that reflects sunlight, limit prolonged direct exposure to midday and afternoon sun, and seek out cool, well-ventilated spaces when possible. The agency also specifically urged residents who have pre-existing respiratory sensitivities to dust to take extra precautions and follow established public health guidance for poor air quality.

    Temperature ranges will stay consistent across the country over the weekend, with overnight lows settling between 22°C and 24°C, and daytime highs reaching a balmy 30°C to 32°C.

    As the calendar turns to June, the official start of hurricane season for the entire Atlantic basin, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, arrives on Monday. In its forecast for the opening day of the season, Indomet says a tropical wave currently tracking south of Dominican territory through Caribbean waters, combined with the influence of a low-pressure trough, will bring scattered local downpours and isolated thunderstorms to coastal and southern provinces including Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal, Peravia, and Barahona during Monday morning hours. By the afternoon, those rain systems are projected to shift northward into the Cibao region, impacting La Vega, Santiago Rodríguez, Valverde, Santiago, and Dajabón. For all remaining regions of the country, the stable anticyclonic system and lingering Saharan dust will maintain sunny, partly hazy conditions.

    Moving into Tuesday, the forecast calls for largely calm and stable weather across the Dominican Republic. The anticyclonic circulation will remain in place, and concentrations of Saharan dust in the atmosphere are expected to increase, keeping rainfall extremely rare across most of the country. Skies will be primarily sunny with occasional scattered cloud cover, holding to the pattern of warm conditions that dominated the weekend.

  • Dairy industry urged to adapt as drought conditions worsen

    Dairy industry urged to adapt as drought conditions worsen

    As extreme heat and prolonged drought intensify across Barbados, dairy producers and agricultural specialists are sounding the alarm that current climate conditions have already suppressed milk output, and the entire sector could face long-term collapse if aggressive climate adaptation measures are not rolled out immediately. With the Caribbean island just days away from shifting from its annual dry season into the active hurricane period, local dairy farmers are actively seeking targeted guidance to protect their cattle herds and preserve stable milk production against rising temperatures and worsening water scarcity.

    These pressing concerns took center stage at Thursday’s Dairy Farmers Engagement Forum, hosted by leading local producer Pine Hill Dairy at the Radisson Aquatica resort. The gathering brought together practicing dairy farmers, senior climate officials, and veteran agricultural experts to map the sector’s most pressing challenges and collaborate on actionable, scalable solutions.

    Julia Holder, Pine Hill Dairy’s Dairy Farm Development Manager, outlined the day-to-day struggles already facing producers across the island. “Farmers are currently battling three interconnected crises: severe heat stress for cattle, widespread water shortages, and steady declines in milk output,” Holder explained. “We are looking at fundamental changes that need to happen on farms, from adding dedicated shade structures and shaded grazing areas to installing active cooling systems that mitigate heat stress for cows. The issue is that most small-scale producers simply cannot afford to implement these systems on their own. Right now, we are dependent on natural breeze for cooling, and with temperatures rising, even the wind is already hot—there are so many overlapping pressures working against us.”

    Arlie Connolly, Senior Agricultural Assistant at Barbados’ Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, announced that financial support is already available for farmers looking to upgrade their environmental control infrastructure. Connolly confirmed that the government currently offers rebates of up to 25,000 Barbados dollars for climate-friendly cooling systems for both poultry and livestock, a benefit that dairy producers can leverage to cool cattle pens. In addition to existing incentives, Connolly said the ministry is open to expanding support for a wide range of climate-smart farming initiatives across the dairy sector. “We already offer rebates for milking parlour upgrades and dairy housing infrastructure, and I fully support expanding these programs to prioritize climate-smart design,” Connolly stated.

    Connolly also urged local hay producers and livestock farmers to proactively prepare for forecasted dry conditions well in advance. “If this pattern of hot, dry weather continues, producers with pastures suitable for hay production need to take steps now to maximize output,” he noted. “Fertilize grass early to get the highest possible yield, so that you can stockpile enough hay to get through extended dry periods. If you don’t have enough feed stored for your cattle, you are going to face major losses down the line.”

    Danielle Nurse, a Climate Officer with the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS), emphasized that leveraging existing climate data and long-term forecasts is critical for helping farmers adapt to shifting weather patterns. Nurse explained that the BMS’ quarterly Barbados Climate Outlook newsletter remains the primary platform for sharing actionable climate information with the public and agricultural stakeholders. “We publish projections for three to six months out, including expected rainfall ranges, whether totals will be above or below the seasonal average, and the probability of above-normal temperatures—including overnight temperatures,” Nurse explained. “Heat stress doesn’t just affect animals during the day; even humans struggle to recover if overnight temperatures don’t cool down enough, so the impact on cattle is even more severe. We also publish drought outlooks and break down upcoming climatic factors that could impact conditions for producers.”

    Nurse warned that the choices Barbados makes around climate adaptation over the next 10 years will directly determine whether the domestic dairy industry remains viable long-term. “Successful adaptation depends on the partnerships we build today,” she said. “We can publish all the rainfall, drought, and temperature outlooks in the world, but we need feedback from farmers to make these resources useful. Tell us what information is working, what isn’t, and what you need from us, and we can work together to develop tools that fit the sector’s needs.”

    She added that cross-sector collaboration between government agencies, farming groups, and technical experts could unlock new targeted rebate programs for climate-smart infrastructure. “If we want to design an effective rebate program for climate-smart farm buildings, we need input from all stakeholders,” Nurse explained. “We need data on local wind patterns and humidity to design buildings that work for our climate. Then we can partner with architects, farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture, all of us sitting down together to map the best design, figure out what support is feasible, and move forward to roll out a rebate program that actually meets producers’ needs.”

    Nurse also contextualized current conditions within broader regional climate trends, noting that El Niño-driven warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures are already impacting the entire Eastern Caribbean. “El Niño alters tropical circulation patterns, and for the Eastern Caribbean, that translates to more extreme heat and lower than average rainfall,” she said. “So far this year, total rainfall is already just below the long-term average, and we have had extended dry periods—before last weekend, we went almost six weeks with very little precipitation. Right now, we are already in an agricultural drought. Our most recent newsletter included an official agricultural drought warning and a hydrological drought watch for the island.”

    Even with the official wet season approaching, Nurse cautioned that producers should prepare for continued prolonged dry spells and high temperatures. If the upcoming wet season brings below-average rainfall, she added, conditions could become even more difficult for the dairy sector heading into next year. “Next year’s dry season could be even tougher than this year’s, depending on how much rain we get in the coming wet season,” Nurse said. “Proactive preparation and collaborative adaptation are the only ways to protect this critical industry from the growing impacts of climate change.”

  • Black-eyed peas pilot project highlights food security potential in Trinidad and Tobago

    Black-eyed peas pilot project highlights food security potential in Trinidad and Tobago

    On Tuesday, stakeholders gathered in Warrenville, Trinidad, to celebrate the landmark success of a collaborative black-eyed peas pilot project that is poised to reshape the island nation’s agricultural landscape and advance long-standing food security goals. Led by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in partnership with Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the initiative drew cross-sector support from the Ministry of Education, National School Dietary Services Limited (NSDSL), the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Caribbean office, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

    Early data from the trial plots has exceeded even the most optimistic projections, confirming that black-eyed peas can thrive in Trinidad and Tobago’s unique local growing conditions. The project recorded an exceptional germination rate of over 96%, with crops reaching full harvest maturity in just 56 to 60 days – a full month faster than the 90-day growing window predicted by international guidance from overseas agricultural bodies. The black-eyed peas were planted across two acres of a six-acre demonstration site, which also hosted complementary trials for soybeans and corn.

    Addressing attendees at the official launch event, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram framed the project as a critical turning point for the country’s push toward greater food sovereignty. “Today marks the moment we move from talking about food security to taking tangible action,” Ratiram stated. “The empirical data we have collected from these trial plots gives us the confidence to advise local farmers on the production viability, environmental suitability, and profit potential of integrating black-eyed peas into their crop rotations.”

    Ratiram emphasized that cutting the nation’s reliance on imported food and agricultural inputs remains a core policy priority, and credited the cross-institutional collaboration between researchers, farmers, technical specialists, and government agencies for the project’s early success.

    CARDI Executive Director Ansari Hosein expanded on the far-reaching economic and public health benefits of scaling local black-eyed pea production. He noted that Trinidad and Tobago’s national school feeding program already consumes more than 300,000 kilograms of imported black-eyed peas annually – a demand that could be fully met by domestic production once farmers adopt the refined growing framework developed through the pilot.

    “Scaling local production doesn’t just cut import dependence – it opens new, stable income streams for small and mid-sized farmers, generates new local employment opportunities, and reduces the outflow of foreign exchange spent on food imports,” Hosein explained. Beyond economic gains, he added, black-eyed peas are a nutrient-dense food that supports better public health outcomes and helps reduce the national burden of non-communicable diseases.

    CARDI Technical Manager Fayaz Shah broke down key actionable takeaways for local farmers emerging from the pilot, highlighting the critical roles of early soil preparation, structured irrigation planning, proactive pest and disease management, and timely fertilizer application in achieving strong yields. As part of Tuesday’s event, CARDI researchers delivered technical training sessions and hosted live harvesting demonstrations for attending farmers, education officials, and stakeholders to share best practices directly.

    The successful pilot is part of a broader regional push across the Caribbean to strengthen agricultural resilience, reinforce local food production systems, cut ballooning regional food import bills, and expand sustainable, nutrient-focused feeding programs for schools and communities. Stakeholders involved in the project project that as production scales, locally grown black-eyed peas will become a staple of national institutional feeding programs, while opening growing new market opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses across Trinidad and Tobago.

  • Auction Sale

    Auction Sale

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  • Dominican Archbishop invites Pope Leo XIV to visit the Dominican Republic

    Dominican Archbishop invites Pope Leo XIV to visit the Dominican Republic

    Between May 22 and 28, Carlos Tomás Morel Diplán, Coadjutor Archbishop of Santo Domingo, carried out an official working visit to Vatican City, headlined by a closed-door private meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Pontiff’s private office on May 25. This gathering marked the first official face-to-face meeting between the two church leaders since Morel received his appointment to the senior archdiocesan role.

    The half-hour conversation centered on two core topics: the current state of pastoral work and church operations across the Dominican Republic, and the key priorities of Morel’s ongoing leadership mission within the Dominican Catholic Church. Notably, the meeting aligned perfectly with the Vatican’s launch of *Magnifica Humanitas*, Pope Leo XIV’s debut encyclical. This landmark papal document tackles the pressing ethical and social questions raised by rapid artificial intelligence advancement, with a central focus on upholding and protecting fundamental human dignity in the fast-evolving digital technological age.

    As a key part of his packed Vatican schedule, Morel took part in multiple church-led gatherings and official events organized to coincide with the release of the new papal encyclical. During his private discussion with Pope Leo XIV, the archbishop also extended a formal invitation for the Pontiff to undertake an official visit to the Dominican Republic. Early reports indicate that Pope Leo XIV responded positively, sharing that he holds clear interest in traveling to the Caribbean nation at a future date.

    Morel’s week-long visit wrapped up with a series of additional working meetings that brought together senior Dominican diplomatic representatives and senior Catholic clergy based in Rome, including Víctor Valdemar Suárez Díaz, the Dominican Republic’s ambassador to the Holy See. Beyond his official diplomatic and ecclesial engagements, the archbishop also led Eucharistic services and gathered with Catholic community groups from the Dominican Republic based in Rome during his stay in the Italian capital.