News/International

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich speaks to the media Sept. 25 during the German bishops' conference meeting in Fulda, Germany. Cardinal Marx formally apologized for sexual abuse in the church, saying it "has been denied, turned away from and covered up for far too long."

German bishops formally apologize, release sex abuse records

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The head of the German bishops conference formally apologized for sexual abuse in the church, saying it "has been denied, turned away from and covered up for far too long."
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï speaks at the CCCB plenary Sept. 24.

Canadians must help Syrian refugees who want to return home, says Maronite Patriarch

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CORNWALL, Ont. – Western nations must support Syrian refugees in Lebanon who want to return home, Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï told Canada’s Catholic bishops.

A Catholic priest celebrates Sunday Mass in Beijing in this Dec. 4, 2016, file photo. In a special message addressed "to the Catholics of China and to the universal church," released by the Vatican Sept. 26, Pope Francis said he hoped a recent Sin-Vatican agreement would help "restore full communion among all Chinese Catholics."

Time to heal, restore full communion, evangelize, Pope tells Catholics in China

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VATICAN – The recent Vatican-China agreement on the nomination of bishops seeks the true good of the church, the promotion of preaching the Gospel in China and the re-establishment of the church's full and visible unity, Pope Francis said in a message to Catholics in China and worldwide.
Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto arrives for a Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by Pope Francis for the canonization of two Canadian saints in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 2014.

Cardinal Collins exhorts priests to 'become fire', experience constant purification

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PHEONIX, Ariz. – Toronto's Cardinal Thomas Collins has a provocative message for priests, bishops, and seminarians struggling to attain holiness: “You must become fire.”
Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Tallinn, Estonia, to Rome Sept. 25.

On papal flight, Pope discusses sex abuse, cover-up corruption, China-Vatican deal

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ROME – The Catholic Church has grown in its understanding of the horror of clerical sexual abuse and of the "corruption" of covering it up, Pope Francis said.
esuit Father Hans Zollner, president of the Center for Child Protection, speaks in 2015 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome during a news conference officially launching the Center for Child Protection in Rome.

Clergy caught in ‘siege mentality,’ says head of Vatican's expert on sex abuse

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ROME – The Catholic Church is on trial and what happens next will define its place in the world to come, said one of the Vatican’s foremost experts on clergy sex abuse.

Tanzanian security agents in Ukara bury coffins Sept. 23 after a ferry overturned two days earlier in Lake Victoria.

Pope Francis prays for victims of ferry disaster in Tanzania

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VATICAN – Pope Francis mourned the loss of more than 200 lives in a ferry accident on Lake Victoria near the Tanzanian island of Ukara.
Pope Francis greets a young woman during an ecumenical encounter with young people at the Kaarli Lutheran Church in Tallinn, Estonia, Sept. 25.

Scandals drive youth away from the Church, but there is time for conversion, Pope says

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TALLINN, Estonia – In what is probably the least religious country in Europe, Pope Francis said he is surprised by how many people hold firm to their faith despite all the sexual abuse and financial scandals in the Catholic Church.
Photograph of Cardinal Bernardin presiding over Mass in 1991 at Resurrection Parish.

Abuse survivor priest in Chicago removed 'temporarily' following rainbow flag burning

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CHICAGO – The Archdiocese of Chicago has confirmed the temporary removal of the parish priest at the center of a controversy over the burning of a rainbow banner. According to the archdiocese, Fr. Paul Kalchik has “left willingly” from his Chicago parish “to receive pastoral care.”
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia arrives for the opening session of the Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 5, 2015.

Philadelphia's Archbishop Chaput shares theological critique of youth synod working document

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PHILADELPHIA – Archbishop Charles Chaput offered Friday on First Things a critique by a theologian of the working document for the upcoming Synod on Youth, which highlights five principal theological difficulties in the document.
oung people pray during Mass in 2015 at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Nairobi, Kenya. Bishops from East Africa said they will prioritize fundamentalism at October's Synod of Bishops, because of its impact on young Catholics.

East African bishops to prioritize fundamentalism at synod on youth

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NAIROBI, Kenya – Due to its impact on young Catholics in Africa, fundamentalism will be a topic that bishops from East Africa prioritize in their talks with other delegates during the synod's intervention sessions.
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