News/International
Scottish church condemns government's 'gender obsession' after rare reform veto
By Jonathan Luxmoore, OSV NewsA spokesman for Scotland's Catholic Church has welcomed the British government's veto of legislation allowing teenagers to change their legally documented sex via a simple self-declaration, and criticized Scottish politicians' "obsession with gender politics."
McCarrick’s lawyers seek to prove disgraced former cardinal not competent to stand tria
By Damien Fisher, OSV NewsAs Theodore McCarrick faces criminal charges for alleged sexual abuse of a 16-year-old boy, the disgraced former cardinal's legal defense team is now claiming he is in steep mental and physical decline and therefore not able to stand trial.
Sister André, oldest known person in world, dies in France at age 118
By OSV NewsSister André, a Daughter of Charity and the world's oldest known person, died at age 118, a spokesman of the nursing home where she died told AFP agency on Tuesday.
Catholic priest burned to death in Nigeria; other Christians in Congo killed
By Fredrick Nzwili, OSV NewsDeadly violence hit Christians in Africa Jan. 15, with a Catholic priest in northern Nigeria burned to death and as many as 17 Christians killed in a blast in eastern Congo.
U.S. religious liberty expert 'disappointed' in Vatican-China deal
By Justin McLellan, Catholic News ServiceThe United States' chief advocate for religious freedom expressed his "disappointment" in the Vatican over its provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops in the country.
Armenia struggles in Ukraine’s shadow
By Susan Korah, Catholic Register SpecialIt’s Jan. 5 — Christmas eve for Armenians — most of whom are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Orthodox Christian denomination that celebrates Christmas on Jan. 6.
Aide’s book insists Benedict’s resignation one of free will
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News ServiceSoon after Pope Benedict XVI was laid to rest in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, an Italian publisher released early copies of a book by the late pope’s secretary.
Francis pontificate ‘a catastrophe,’ synod ‘toxic nightmare,’ Pell wrote
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News ServiceAustralian Cardinal George Pell, who died in Rome Jan. 10, never made a secret of his staunch adherence to established Catholic moral teaching and his concern about fellow cardinals and bishops he saw as willing to abandon that teaching.
Church needs to be in crypto conversation
By Gina Christian, OSV NewsThe recent collapse of a major cryptocurrency exchange proves the Catholic Church must “begin a conversation” on such technologies, a Catholic author and entrepreneur told OSV News.
Australian Cardinal Pell dies at 81
By Julie Asher, OSV NewsAustralian Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy and archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne, died Jan. 10 in Rome. He was 81.
New Syriac Catholic archbishop of Homs survived ISIS kidnapping
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News ServiceThe new Syriac Catholic archbishop of Homs, Syria, had spent almost five months as a prisoner of Islamic State rebels in 2015.