News/International

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, sprinkles holy water on the body of Pope Benedict XVI during a Rite of Reception after the transfer of the body into St. Peter's Basilica in the early morning at the Vatican Jan. 2, 2023.

Pope Benedict's body solemnly, lovingly carried to St. Peter's Basilica

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The consecrated women who cared for Pope Benedict XVI in his retirement gently stroked his hands before his body was carried on a red-covered stretcher to a van for its last journey to St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Benedict XVI: A remarkable life

Pope Benedict XVI: A remarkable life

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Having passed away Dec. 31, Pope Benedict XVI will be remembered as one of the most important teachers, servants and leaders in modern Church history. Read our full obituary.

A woman lights candles ahead of a ceremony to launch the beginning of the Christmas season at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, Nov. 26, 2022. In their Christmas message, the patriarchs and heads of churches of the Holy Land compared the suffering of refugees to the suffering of the Holy Family.

Christian leaders in Holy Land: Refugees suffer like Holy Family did

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Comparing the suffering Jesus and the Holy Family endured to the way many people and refugees are suffering today, the patriarchs and heads of churches of the Holy Land reminded the faithful of the "deep and abiding love" God has for all his people.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life

Fr. Pavone says Vatican didn't tell him directly he was laicized

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In a live morning broadcast on Twitter Dec. 18, Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said he was not told directly by the Vatican that he has been laicized.

A fragment from the Parthenon depicting the head of a boy, housed in the Vatican Museums, is among three ancient fragments that Pope Francis will give to Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece. According to the Vatican Museums' website, the fragments came into their possession in the 19th century.

Pope Francis returns Parthenon marbles in Vatican collection to Greece

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Expressing his desire to bear witness to "the truth," Pope Francis is returning three marble fragments that were originally from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, according to the Vatican.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, speaks during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, in this June 16, 2022, file photo. She told reporters Dec. 15 that the Vatican had apologized for comments Pope Francis made about Russian minorities being responsible for the worst acts of cruelty in the country's war on Ukraine, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

Russia says Vatican apologized for Pope Francis' remarks

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The Vatican has had diplomatic contact with Russia regarding comments Pope Francis made about Russian minorities being responsible for the worst acts of cruelty in the country's war on Ukraine.

Members of World Wide Fund for Nature protest in Montreal Dec. 7 during COP15, the two-week UN Biodiversity Conference.

Activists urge action to protect biodiversity

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With scientists warning that the loss of nature is accelerating at dangerous speeds, Catholic activists are urging nations at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal to act to protect life on Earth at all levels.

President Joe Biden is seen in Phoenix Dec. 6, 2022.

Court strikes down Biden’s transgender mandate

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The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis Dec. 9 permanently blocked a transgender mandate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had implemented as a revision to the Affordable Care Act.

A man holds a candle during a prayer service for Jesuit Father Stan Swamy in Mumbai, India, July 6, 2021, a day after he died at a hospital while in custody. Catholic activists and priests want the Indian government to "take full responsibility" for the priest's death after findings by U.S.-based digital forensic experts that false evidence was planted on the priest's computer by hacking it.

Hackers planted false files implicating Indian Jesuit who died in prison

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Catholic activists and priests want the Indian government to "take full responsibility" for the custodial death of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy after findings by U.S.-based digital forensic experts that false evidence was planted on the priest's computer.

The Vatican is often criticized for not condemning the Russian invasion more forthrightly, but former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Ken Hackett says that’s long been the way of the Vatican. The Vatican “does not want to close the door,” he said.

Diplomacy, Vatican-style: relationships key

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Ken Hackett, former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, said he was advised early on that diplomacy with the Vatican was about relationships, not transactions.

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany March 18, 2021. Lawyer Stephan Rixen, the state-appointed chairman of the commission to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne, has quit.

Chairman of Cologne’s abuse commission resigns

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The state-appointed chairman of the commission to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne has quit, saying he doubted the independence of the commission and wondered whether its main aim was to protect Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki.

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