News/International

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges pilgrims during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Nov. 4, 2009.

Insomnia led to Benedict resignation

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Pope Benedict XVI’s biographer revealed that the late pontiff for years suffered from insomnia and exhaustion, which ultimately led him to resign from the papacy.

An Army soldier and rescue workers survey the damages, after a suicide blast at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, Jan. 30, 2023. As of Jan. 31, the death toll rose to 88 as rescue workers continued to recover bodies underneath the rubble. More than 150 people were wounded in the attack.

Mosque suicide bombing targets police, dozens dead

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Dozens of people, mostly police and security forces, were killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque in northeastern Pakistan.

Pope Francis is welcomed by Prime Minister Sama Lukonde, right, as he arrives at the international airport in Kinshasa, Congo, Jan. 31, 2023.

Pope Francis arrives in Congo after praying on flight for migrants

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After flying across the equator, Pope Francis was welcomed warmly -- in every sense -- to Congo where Catholics make up the majority of the population and where, for decades, the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of efforts to bring peace, education and health care to the people.

Israeli security personnel work at a scene where a suspected incident of shooting attack took place, police spokesman said, just outside Jerusalem's Old City Jan. 28, 2023. Jerusalem spiraled into a weekend of violence as seven Israelis were killed Jan. 27 at a synagogue after prayers and another shooting the next day left two Israelis injured just outside of the Old City in the Palestinian village of Silwan where Jewish settlers have established themselves and an archaeological site.

Christian quarter targeted as Jerusalem spirals into weekend of violence

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Following a rampage of a radical Jewish gang in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City on the evening of Jan. 26, the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land called on political and religious authorities to bring civil and religious life in Jerusalem back to "greater serenity.

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."

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