News/International

The morning after Hurricane Otis stormed through Acapulco as a Category 5 monster, Father Leonardo Morales surveyed the damage and saw total destruction.

Fate of captured Ukrainian Catholic priests unknown

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The fate of two Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests remains unknown almost a year after their capture by the Russian National Guard amid Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Forum 18, an Oslo, Norway-based news service that covers religious and intellectual freedom violations in several countries.

Pope Francis calls for cease-fire in Holy Land; Vatican-Iranian diplomats talk

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The day after Pope Francis called for a cease-fire in the Holy Land, his foreign minister spoke by phone with the foreign minister of Iran, "reiterating the absolute need to avoid escalating the conflict," the Vatican press office said.

Football’s the dream, but faith is his focal point

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In his second year as an offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, Abraham “Abe” Lucas is living his childhood dream. Even so, it’s faith, not football, that’s the most important thing for this self-described “hard-core Catholic.”

As Rupnik investigation reopens, debate continues over use of his art

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Two days after news broke Father Marko Rupnik was incardinated by Slovenia's Koper diocese, the Vatican announced Oct. 27 that Pope Francis has lifted the statute of limitations on abuse accusations against Father Rupnik to allow for a formal investigation of the case by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Young Christians a lifeline to Gaza neighbours

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In a media world that portrays the Israel-Palestine conflict as simple hostility between people of the Judaic and Muslim faiths, the Christian presence in Palestine is minimized or erased.

Gaza Catholic parish mourns fellow Christians killed in blast at Greek Orthodox complex

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For Mother María del Pilar Llerena Vargas, "it was an image that will be very difficult to erase." The Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Peru, who is serving in the Catholic parish in Gaza, recalled the pain of watching the funeral of Christians killed in an Oct. 19 blast at a Greek Orthodox church.

Biden and Pope Francis discuss conflict in Israel and Gaza in phone call

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President Joe Biden and Pope Francis spoke by phone Oct. 22 to discuss the conflict in Israel and Gaza and facilitating a path to "durable peace" in the region, according to the press offices of both leaders.

Greek Orthodox church in Gaza damaged in blast

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An explosion at the St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church campus in Gaza has left the administration building in ruins, and at least 17 people dead, though numbers have not yet been officially confirmed.

Palestine ambassador says Vatican should play role in mediating end of 'carnage'

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The Vatican, especially Pope Francis, must double its efforts and urge the international community to end the massacre of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, Palestine's ambassador to Denmark said.