News/International

Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, Austria, attend Pope Francis' general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in 2018. Cardinal Puljic said he received threats for celebrating a mid-May Mass for victims of a post-World War II massacre. The Mass is normally celebrated in an Austrian border town but was held in Sarajevo because of restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bosnian church official defends Mass for victims of communist massacre

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WARSAW, Poland -- Bosnian church leaders defended their decision to hold a Mass for civilians and former soldiers slaughtered by victorious communist forces in Yugoslavia, despite international condemnations and domestic protests.

A protester in Minneapolis vandalizes an O'Reilly's near the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct May 27, 2020. Two days earlier George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was pinned down by a police officer kneeling on his neck before later dying in the hospital May 25.

U.S. Bishops 'sickened' by Floyd's death, urge racism be met 'head-on'

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Catholic bishops said May 29 they "are broken-hearted, sickened and outraged to watch another video of an African American man being killed before our very eyes."

A man crosses a flooded street in Kolkata, India, May 21, 2020, after Cyclone Amphan made its landfall. Following the cyclone, incessant rain and floods have forced hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer places in eastern India's Assam state.

Rain, flooding compound problems for state in eastern India

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GUWAHATI, India -- Incessant rain and floods have forced hundreds of thousands of people to move to safer places in eastern India's Assam state, adding to the misery brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and a mid-May cyclone.

Deacon Robert Lavanco of Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church prays with Krystyna Kopacki in New York City on May 24. President Donald Trump declared places of worship “essential” May 22.

Trump pushes to open houses of worship

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WASHINGTON -- Saying America needs “more prayer, not less,” President Donald Trump has declared houses of worship “essential” and directed the country’s governors “to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now, this weekend.”

A visitor wears a mask for protection from the coronavirus while touring the Vatican Museums in this Feb. 29, 2020, file photo.

Vatican Museums to reopen June 1

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VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- The Vatican Museums announced Saturday that it will reopen on June 1, two days before Italy opens its borders to European visitors after nearly three months of lockdown.

Residents carry tin sheets salvaged from the rubble of a damaged house in a village near Kolkata, India, May 22, 2020, in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan.

Catholic volunteers lend aid to cyclone victims in India

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BHOPAL, India -- Catholic volunteers provided food and shelter to hundreds of people in coastal eastern India after Cyclone Amphan devastated the region May 20, killing 80 people and destroying thousands of homes.

An aerial view of the Lake Shore campus of Loyola University Chicago is seen in this Oct. 28, 2019, photo. Catholic colleges and universities throughout the U.S. report struggles resulting from the coronavirus pandemic's economic hit.

Catholic colleges, universities face pandemic's financial punch

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WASHINGTON -- The coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the health and economy of the nation particularly dealt a blow to Catholic higher education, from the large universities with hefty endowments to smaller liberal arts schools.

A woman walks out of her family home in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 9, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Church officials and experts say domestic violence in Africa is rising during government-enforced measures to fight COVID-19.

African church leaders work to curb domestic abuse during lockdown

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- On the night of May 9, Edward Okello, an aeronautical engineer, died when a kitchen knife was plunged into his chest. Vigilance Shighi later said she did not know how the weapon hit her boyfriend, who had beaten her.

Vanderlecia Ortega dos Santos is seen with her family in their kitchen in Manaus, Brazil, May 7, 2020. Santos is a nurse who has volunteered to provide the only frontline care protecting her indigenous community of 700 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catholic leaders warn of humanitarian, environmental tragedy in Amazon

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LIMA, Peru -- Catholic leaders warn that as the coronavirus pandemic spreads into the Amazon basin, the region may face a "humanitarian and environmental tragedy."

A nun walks in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 18, 2020, after the basilica reopened to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Peter's Basilica reopens to the public

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VATICAN CITY -- Almost 10 weeks after St. Peter's Basilica was closed to the public in cooperation with Italy's COVID-19 lockdown measures, the faithful and tourists were allowed back in May 18.

Vatican workers in protective gear sanitize various surfaces inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 15, 2020, ahead of the resumption of Masses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vatican workers sanitize St. Peter's Basilica

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VATICAN CITY -- In preparation for the May 18 resumption of public liturgies in Italy and a morning Mass with Pope Francis at the tomb of St. John Paul II, Vatican workers cleaned and sanitized the inside of St. Peter's Basilica May 15.

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