News/International

An aerial view of the Lake Shore campus of Loyola University Chicago is seen in this Oct. 28, 2019, photo. Catholic colleges and universities throughout the U.S. report struggles resulting from the coronavirus pandemic's economic hit.

Catholic colleges, universities face pandemic's financial punch

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WASHINGTON -- The coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the health and economy of the nation particularly dealt a blow to Catholic higher education, from the large universities with hefty endowments to smaller liberal arts schools.

A woman walks out of her family home in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 9, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Church officials and experts say domestic violence in Africa is rising during government-enforced measures to fight COVID-19.

African church leaders work to curb domestic abuse during lockdown

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- On the night of May 9, Edward Okello, an aeronautical engineer, died when a kitchen knife was plunged into his chest. Vigilance Shighi later said she did not know how the weapon hit her boyfriend, who had beaten her.

Vanderlecia Ortega dos Santos is seen with her family in their kitchen in Manaus, Brazil, May 7, 2020. Santos is a nurse who has volunteered to provide the only frontline care protecting her indigenous community of 700 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catholic leaders warn of humanitarian, environmental tragedy in Amazon

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LIMA, Peru -- Catholic leaders warn that as the coronavirus pandemic spreads into the Amazon basin, the region may face a "humanitarian and environmental tragedy."

A nun walks in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 18, 2020, after the basilica reopened to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Peter's Basilica reopens to the public

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VATICAN CITY -- Almost 10 weeks after St. Peter's Basilica was closed to the public in cooperation with Italy's COVID-19 lockdown measures, the faithful and tourists were allowed back in May 18.

Vatican workers in protective gear sanitize various surfaces inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 15, 2020, ahead of the resumption of Masses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vatican workers sanitize St. Peter's Basilica

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VATICAN CITY -- In preparation for the May 18 resumption of public liturgies in Italy and a morning Mass with Pope Francis at the tomb of St. John Paul II, Vatican workers cleaned and sanitized the inside of St. Peter's Basilica May 15.

Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm

Sweden’s approach to virus draws criticism from cardinal

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ROME -- Sweden’s high death rate among the elderly raises questions about the government’s effectiveness in combating COVID-19, said the nation’s cardinal.

A person prays at the closed doors of London's Westminster Cathedral on Easter, April 12, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Churches in England and Wales must wait until July before they may reopen under a coronavirus recovery strategy published by the government.

Britain says churches can't open until July; bishops not happy

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MANCHESTER, England -- Churches in England and Wales must wait until July before they may reopen, under a coronavirus recovery strategy published by the government.

Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, is pictured at his residence at the Vatican in this Oct. 20, 2011, file photo. German bishops have rejected COVID-19 "conspiracy theories" by Archbishop Vigano and Cardinal Gerhard Muller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

German bishops reject COVID-19 'conspiracy theories' by prominent clergy

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BONN, Germany -- Catholic bishops have distanced themselves from a letter in which several prominent Catholic clergy warned there were attempts to use the COVID-19 pandemic to create a "world government beyond all control."

The Israeli settlement Har Homa is seen on the hillside overlooking houses in Bethlehem in the valley in the West Bank, in this Dec. 3, 2019, photo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Church leaders oppose Israeli plans to annex West Bank

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JERUSALEM -- Moving forward with an Israeli plan to unilaterally annex West Bank land could mean the end to the already languishing Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, said the heads of the Holy Land churches.

A priest wearing a protective face mask gives holy Communion to a man May 1, 2020, in a Catholic church in Kevelaer, Germany, during the first public Mass in the city since churches were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Churches in Europe reopening with restrictions

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ROME -- With a number of countries in Europe slowly easing restrictions as part of a long-term strategy for containing the spread of the coronavirus, churches, too, are seeing changes in what is or will be allowed.

George Cardinal Pell

Australian commission publishes redacted report sections on Cardinal Pell

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VALLA BEACH, Australia -- The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse published redacted sections of its 2017 report, and new findings said it did not believe some of the testimony given to it by Cardinal George Pell.

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