News/International

A young woman carries a Cross during a march in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, to protest escalating violence in the country Dec. 4.

Hopes high Pope’s African visit will clear path to peace

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Braving a volatile political and security situation, Pope Francis embarks on a long-anticipated journey of unity and reconciliation to two African countries wracked by bitter divisions, warring factions and humanitarian crises seldom on the radar of international power brokers.

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with the top staff of America magazine at the Vatican Nov. 22, 2022.

Pope Francis: Criticism is annoying, but can be helpful

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Public criticism by cardinals and bishops is annoying -- "like a rash that bothers you a bit," Pope Francis said -- but differences need to be aired and criticism can be helpful, he told the Associated Press.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is pictured in a March 25, 2022, photo. Archbishop Shevchuk has warned against moves by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government to outlaw Orthodox communities linked to Moscow and urged his countrymen to "give Russians a chance to repent."

Ukrainian Catholic leader warns against Orthodox ban

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The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has warned against moves by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government to outlaw Orthodox communities linked to Moscow, and urged his countrymen to "give Russians a chance to repent."

An Indigenous demonstrator confronts riot police during anti-government protests in Lima Jan. 21, 2023, to demand the release of protesters taken into custody while demonstrating in support of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo after he was ousted. Peru's bishops pleaded for peace as violent protests against the country's current president and legislature have claimed the lives of dozens of people.

Pope, bishops call for peace as violent protests in Peru turn deadly

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Peru’s bishops pleaded for peace as violent protests against the country’s current president and legislature have claimed the lives of dozens of people.

High school and college students hold the Walk for Life banner as pro-life supporters exit Civic Center Plaza to begin the mile-long trek along San Francisco's Market Street Jan. 21, 2023.

Tens of thousands turn out for Walk for Life West Coast to speak for unborn

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The first Walk for Life West Coast since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June drew an outsized crowd of tens of thousands of pro-life supporters, apparently undaunted by California's newly approved constitutional amendment removing all restrictions on abortion.

"What is Christianity?" a book of essays written by retired Pope Benedict XVI from 2014 to 2022, was released in Italian in late January. In the preface, Pope Benedict asked that the book not be released before his death.

Italian publisher releases book of essays by Pope Benedict

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While the Second Vatican Council gave the Catholic Church a "beautiful" document on the priesthood, "it did not face the fundamental question" of the difference between Catholic and Protestant understandings of ordained ministry, wrote Pope Benedict XVI in an essay published after his death.

Transgender rights supporters protest in favour of Scottish gender reform bill outside Downing Street in London Jan. 17, 2023. A spokesman for Scotland's Catholic Church has welcomed the British government's veto of legislation allowing teenagers to change their sex in legal documentation via a simple self-declaration, and criticized Scottish politicians' "obsession with gender politics."

Scottish church condemns government's 'gender obsession' after rare reform veto

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A 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."

Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick arrives at Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Sept. 3, 2021, after being charged with molesting a 16-year-old boy during a 1974 wedding reception. McCarrick's lawyers argue in a new court filing that the former Catholic archbishop is no longer mentally competent to stand trial.

McCarrick’s lawyers seek to prove disgraced former cardinal not competent to stand tria

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As 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, a French Daughter of Charity who was the world's oldest known person, is pictured in an undated photo. Sister André died Jan. 17, 2023, at age 118 in a nursing home in Toulon, France.

Sister André, oldest known person in world, dies in France at age 118

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Sister 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.

Demonstrators march during a protest by the Democratic Republic of Congo's Catholic and Protestant churches, against escalating violence in Kinshasa Dec. 4, 2022. Deadly violence hit Christians in Africa Jan. 15, 2023, with a Catholic priest in northern Nigeria burned to death and as many as 17 Christians killed in a blast in eastern DRC.

Catholic priest burned to death in Nigeria; other Christians in Congo killed

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Deadly 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.

A poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping hangs next to a crucifix on the wall of the house of a Tibetan Catholic on Christmas Eve in Niuren village, in China's Yunnan province, in this Dec. 24, 2018, file photo.

U.S. religious liberty expert 'disappointed' in Vatican-China deal

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The 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.

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