News/International

Debris surrounds a destroyed home in Mayfield, Ky., Dec. 11, 2021, after a devastating tornado ripped through the town. More than 30 tornadoes were reported across six states late Dec. 10, and early Dec. 11, killing dozens of people and leaving a trail of devastation.

Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild follow devastating tornadoes

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MAYFIELD, Ky. -- Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild shattered lives, homes and businesses in Mayfield followed one of the most powerful twisters in U.S. history that leveled the city of 10,000 in western Kentucky overnight Dec. 10.

Restorer Zacharias Zacharoudis works on the Gabriel door from 1770 at a workshop in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 7, 2021. The restoration of the church required coordination involving more than 400 specialists and the need to maintain the liturgical schedule and to keep the doors open for pilgrims.

Restoration at Church of the Nativity shows what cooperation can do

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- When restoration on the Church of the Nativity's wooden beams and leaking roof began in 2013 with the blessing of the three custodial churches, everyone involved was aware of the historic significance of the venture. It was the first time in 540 years that any repair work was done on the church on the site where Jesus was born.

Police officers guard the site where Sir David Amess, a member of the governing Conservative Party, was stabbed while meeting constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, England, Oct. 15, 2021. Amess was one of the most prominent Catholic politicians in the U.K. Parliament.

Report identifies five European nations with increasing anti-Christian violence

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MANCHESTER, England -- Catholics are facing soaring levels of discrimination in some of the most influential countries in Europe, a new report said.

Pope Francis speaks as Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou looks on during a meeting with government authorities, civic leaders and the diplomatic corps at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, Dec. 4, 2021.

World seeing ‘retreat’ from democracy: Pope Francis

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ATHENS, Greece -- From Aristotle to St. Gregory Nazianzus, and from the Acropolis to the olive tree, Pope Francis drew from Greek history and culture to appeal for a faith that is lived in good works and a politics that truly seeks the common good.

Refugees stand outside their shelters as Pope Francis visits the government-run Reception and Identification Center in Mytilene, Greece, Dec. 5.

At Lesbos refugee camp, Pope Francis urges attack on causes of migration, not those forced to flee

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MYTILENE, Greece -- Standing in a tent on the shore, Pope Francis said the Mediterranean Sea, “the cradle of so many civilizations, now looks like a mirror of death.”

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Athens, Greece, to Rome Dec. 6, 2021. The pope was concluding a five-day visit to Cyprus and Greece.

Pope Francis tells reporters Paris archbishop was hounded out by gossip

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ROME -- Pope Francis told reporters he accepted the resignation of Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris because the archbishop's reputation had been destroyed, making it impossible for him to continue leading the French archdiocese.

Pope Francis walks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades as he arrives for a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Dec. 2, 2021.

Meeting Cypriot leaders, Pope Francis urges dialogue for peace, care for migrants

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NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Sympathizing with the Cypriot government and citizens feeling overwhelmed by an influx of migrants and refugees, Pope Francis urged them to remember their history as a crossroads and meeting place of people of different cultures and traditions.

People in Washington gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 1, 2021, the day justices heard oral arguments in a case about a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of gestation.

U.S. Supreme Court seems willing to allow Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban

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WASHINGTON -- In the Supreme Court's first major abortion case in decades -- which looked at Mississippi's ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy -- the majority of justices Dec. 1 seemed willing to let that ban stay in place.

Villagers returning from a market in the town of Yechila walk past scores of burned vehicles in Ethiopia's Tigray region July 10, 2021. Ethiopian Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of Adigrat has called for an immediate end to aerial bombardment in Tigray, the Ethiopian region where a deadly conflict has unfolded since November 2020.

Bishop calls for an immediate end to bombings in Ethiopia's Tigray region

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of Adigrat called for an immediate end to aerial bombardment in Tigray, the Ethiopian region where a deadly conflict has unfolded since last November.

Refugees and migrants stand next to a tent in the Mavrovouni camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece, March 29. Pope Francis will visit Lesbos Dec. 5 during his five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece.

Migration in spotlight for Pope’s Greek trip

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will draw the world’s attention to migration once again as he visits Cyprus and Greece in early December.

People enjoy the sunset on Manila Bay, Philippines, in this Jan. 20, 2015, file photo. The quincentenary that marks the introduction of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines cannot go unnoticed, given the impact and influence that Catholicism has and continues to have in the everyday lives of Filipinos.

Mass to mark 500 years of Filipino Christianity

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A Filipino Fiesta can go on a long time, and then into overtime. But given that Filipinos have been Christian for 500 years, it’s no surprise that the quincentennial celebrations in Toronto have stretched out longer than the original plan.

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