News/International

Firefighters work after a deadly explosion at the parish center of the Church of Our Lady of La Paloma in downtown Madrid Jan. 20, 2021. A priest and a member of the parish were among four killed in the explosion, which was caused by a gas leak.

Priest, parishioner among casualties in Madrid explosion

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VATICAN CITY -- A young priest ordained only six months ago was among the casualties of an explosion at a parish center in Madrid.

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States as his wife, Jill Biden, holds a Bible on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Jan. 20, 2021.

Second Catholic president causes some to celebrate, gives others anxiety

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WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden became the second Catholic to be inaugurated as president of the United States Jan. 20, giving some U.S. Catholics and their religious leaders a reason to rejoice and others to fear more access to abortion under his leadership.

Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago.

Scheidler was ‘godfather of pro-life activism’

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CHICAGO -- Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago and one of the towering figures of the pro-life movement for decades, died of pneumonia Jan. 18 surrounded by his family at his home n Chicago. He was 93.

Ohio cathedral vandalism suspect, police officer killed in volley of gunfire

Ohio cathedral vandalism suspect, police officer killed in volley of gunfire

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TOLEDO, Ohio -- The suspect sought in connection with vandalism and a small fire at Toledo's cathedral early Jan. 18 and a 24-year-old police officer both died in a hail of gunfire later that same day.

Retired Archbishop Philip Wilson, former president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference who served as archbishop of Adelaide for 17 years, died at age 70 Jan. 17, 2021. He is pictured in a July 20, 2014, photo.

Former president of Australian bishops' conference dies unexpectedly

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ADELAIDE, Australia -- Retired Archbishop Philip Wilson, former president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference who served as archbishop of Adelaide for 17 years, died Jan. 17. He was 70.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden addresses the protests at the U.S. Capitol in Washington as the Congress held a joint session to certify the 2020 election results.

Biden poses issues for U.S. bishops

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With five dead, a move for impeachment and FBI agents fanned out across the U.S. to identify and arrest people who violently stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, theologian Massimo Faggioli finds it mystifying that the U.S. bishops are treating a rosary-praying, Mass-going president-elect as their biggest political problem.

The tower of the Institute for Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured.

Australian agency admits serious error in reporting Vatican bank transfers

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VATICAN CITY -- Australia's financial crime watchdog agency said it over-estimated by the equivalent of more than US$1.5 billion the amount of money transferred from the Vatican to Australia between 2014 and 2020.

Men stand in line near the burned migrant center "Lipa" waiting for food in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dec. 27, 2020. More than a thousand migrants from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa were left to sleep in the cold after their camp in northwestern Bosnia burned down Dec. 23 amid a dispute among Bosnian politicians over where to house them.

Human rights organizations call for solution to Bosnian migrant crisis

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VATICAN CITY -- Human rights organizations have called on the European Union to intervene in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where over 1,000 migrants have been stranded in sub-zero temperatures awaiting relocation after their camp burned down.

Supporters of President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington Jan. 6, 2021.

Assault on U.S. Capitol shocks the world

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ROME -- The breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 sent shock waves around the world.

Churches stand on the hill in Jordan behind the Franciscan Chapel of St. John The Baptist at Qasr al-Yahud, on the West Bank of the Jordan River. The bullet-marked chapel was returned to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land after being closed by the Israelis in 1967 because of land mines.

Mass is back on the banks of Jordan

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QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank -- For the first time in 54 years, a Mass will be celebrated Jan. 10, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St. John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River.

People maintain social distancing while attending Mass in the Church of Our Lady of Grace & St. Edward in London Dec. 13, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in January, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster welcomed a decision by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to keep churches in England open during the third national lockdown, while Scottish bishops protested having to close theirs again.

In British lockdown, English churches open, Scottish churches closed

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MANCHESTER, England -- An English cardinal spoke of his relief that churches in England will not close during a third national lockdown.

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