News/International

A sign with the words NO NUKES is seen in front of the Presidential Office Building during an anti-nuclear protest March 3 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Vatican to host nuclear disarmament conference

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VATICAN – The Vatican is preparing for a conference on nuclear disarmament this week in the wake of an international effort to ban nuclear weapons.
Participants watch a film at the beginning of a panel discussion on improving the lives of refugees in host countries Sept. 21 at the U.N. Church Center in New York City.

Victims of Islamic State in focus at UN forum

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NEW YORK – Persecuted religious minorities in Syria and Iraq deserve a better future after suffering at the hands of the Islamic State group.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, Philippines, addresses the crowd during the "Lord, Heal Our Land" Mass Nov. 5 at the Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace in Manila.

Philippine bishops begin prayer vigil to protest deaths in war on drugs

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine bishops' conference started a prayer vigil to protest thousands of killings in the government drive to eradicate drug abuse and drug dealing.
Law enforcement officers stand near the scene of a mass shooting Nov. 5 at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A lone gunman entered the church during Sunday services taking the lives of at least 26 people and injuring several more.

Deadliest shooting in place of worship in U.S. history leaves 26 murdered

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Catholic Church stands "in unity" with the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and the larger community after a shooting during Sunday services took the lives of 26 people and injured several more.
Capuchin Franciscan Father Thomas Weinandy is pictured at the Washington headquarters of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops where he served as chief adviser on doctrinal and canonical affairs.

Priest resigns as consultant on doctrine after letter to Pope

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WASHINGTON – After publication of his letter to Pope Francis questioning the pontiff's teachings, Father Thomas Weinandy has resigned from his position as consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine.
Emergency personnel remove a victim's body Oct. 31 after a man driving a rented pickup truck ran down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City. The incident occurred near the World Trade Center memorial, killing at least eight and seriously injuring 11 in what the Mayor Bill de Blasio called "a particularly cowardly act of terror."

'Horrendous attack weighs on all our hearts,' says Cardinal

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WASHINGTON – The "horrendous act" by a driver in a pickup truck who mowed down pedestrians and bicyclists in New York late in the afternoon Oct. 31 "weighs on all of our hearts," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
For most of the last 500 years, the wounds from the Reformation remained open. It has only been in the last 50 or so — since the Second Vatican Council’s decisive declaration in favour of ecumenism — that major healing has begun.

Five hundred years after Reformation, future depends on healing wounds

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If Martin Luther’s Reformation taught us anything, it’s that unity isn’t something that’s nice to have. It’s essential to the Church actually being the Church.
A girl reads a Bible during Mass in the state-approved Xuanwumen Catholic Church in Bejing, China, Dec. 4, 2016. While the Chinese government technically recognizes Catholicism as one of five religions in the country, it does not recognize many Church leaders appointed by the Vatican, driving many among the Catholic Church leadership and laity underground.

China's president seeks more control over religion

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Beijing, China – President Xi Jinping of China announced this week that he wants to tighten Beijing’s strict government controls on religion in the communist country.
Pope Francis speaks from the Vatican to astronauts aboard the International Space Station Oct. 26. The pope connected for about 25 minutes to astronauts 250 miles above the earth.

Pope says space station crew like a 'tiny U.N.'

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VATICAN – One perk that comes with floating aboard the International Space Station is NASA arranges for occasional calls with celebrities to keep the astronauts' spirits high during their monthslong flights.
Pro-abortion protesters celebrate when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down two provisions of a 2013 Texas law regulating abortion in the state.

Undocumented teen has abortion, following court approval

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Following the approval of a federal court, an undocumented teen girl in Texas has had an abortion, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Father Carlos Francis Mendez, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Las Marias, Puerto Rico, comforts a girl at her home Oct. 24 in a remote area outside the town. Father Mendez, and parishioners distributed relief goods to their home and others in the poor area who were affected by Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico recovery effort shows 'a church that walks with the poor'

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LAS MARIAS, Puerto Rico – By joining forces to create coalitions on behalf of those who are suffering in the wake of Hurricane Maria, the Catholic Church in Puerto Rico has been fulfilling Pope Francis' expressed wish to see "a church that walks with the poor."
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