News/International

A destroyed home is seen after an earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2020. A larger temblor of magnitude 6.4 rattled Puerto Rico before dawn Jan. 7, killing at least one person and destroying a Catholic church. A series of earthquakes and aftershocks beneath the southern part of the island have been occurring since the night of Dec. 28-29.

Catholic church damaged by earthquakes in Puerto Rico

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WASHINGTON -- At least one person has died and one Catholic church was destroyed by the latest of a series of earthquakes to rock Puerto Rico.

The Chinese national flag flies in front of a Catholic church in Huangtugang, China, Sept. 30, 2018. The Chinese government has targeted unregistered Catholic and Protestant churches with an expansion of rules and regulations governing religious organizations.

New rules in China target unregistered Catholic, Protestant churches

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SIEM REAP, Cambodia -- The Chinese government has targeted unregistered Catholic and Protestant churches with a new expansion of rules and regulations governing religious organizations.

Firefighters line the road as a vehicle carrying the casket of volunteer firefighter Andrew O'Dwyer passes en route to his funeral Mass at Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Sydney Jan. 7, 2020. O'Dwyer, a member of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade in Sydney, died Dec. 19 when the truck he was traveling in rolled off the road after a tree fell in the town of Buxton.

'No end in sight to the horror': Australian bishops respond to fires

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CANBERRA, Australia -- Saying that "there is no end in sight to the horror which confronts us," Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the bishops have implemented a national response to months of wildfires.

Smoke rises from a military base in Lamu County, Kenya, Jan. 5, 2020, after the Somali extremist group al-Shabab said it attacked the base. One American service member and two U.S. defense contractors were killed.

Following terrorist attack, Kenyan Catholic leaders sound alarm

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Catholic leaders in Kenya are sounding an alarm after a terror attack killed three Americans and forced local people to flee.

Women carry diapers as they cross a flooded area Jan. 2, 2020, after heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia.Caritas Indonesia (Karina) has joined forces with the Jakarta Archdiocese in distributing aid to people hard hit by floods that have killed dozens of people.

Church workers join aid distribution after Jakarta floods leave 60 dead

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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Caritas Indonesia (Karina) has joined the Jakarta Archdiocese in distributing aid to people hard hit by floods that have killed dozens of people in and around Indonesia's capital.

Sheep are seen as Rural Fire Service crews engage in property protection during wildfires along the Old Hume Highway near the town of Tahmoor, Australia, outside Sydney, Dec. 19, 2019. Wildfires have been burning since August and have destroyed an area comparable to the combined region of the Netherlands and Belgium.

As bush fires continue to rage in Australia, local Catholics seek prayers

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As some of the worst wildfires in Australian history rage across four states, thousands of people in affected areas in New South Wales and Victoria continue to be evacuated to safety.

Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, pictured in an undated photo, was killed in a U.S. drone airstrike at Baghdad International Airport Jan. 3, 2020.

Iraqi cardinal: Innocents will 'be the fuel' for fire after drone strike

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Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako, responding to a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad that killed Iran's top general, said "wisdom is required to avoid the 'volcanic eruption' we are about to face."

A worker removes anti-Semitic graffiti on a shop window in the Belsize Park neighborhood of London. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster used his New Year message to condemn the graffiti, saying such hatred "shames us all" and can have no place in society.

London cardinal condemns hate speech after anti-Semitic graffiti appears

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MANCHESTER, England -- An English cardinal has condemned "all expressions of hatred" after anti-Semitic graffiti was daubed across shops, cafes and a synagogue in London.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles speaks during a lecture at The Catholic University of America in Washington Feb. 6, 2019.

USCCB president condemns anti-Semitic violence

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LOS ANGELES -- Decrying the acts of religious violence that have taken place during the Christmas season, the president of the U.S. bishops declared: "Violence in the name of God is blasphemy."

U.S. and California flags fly in front of the dome of the California Capitol in Sacramento May 9, 2019.

First clergy abuse suits under new California law announced

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LOS ANGELES -- An attorney who specializes in lawsuits for victims of clergy sexual abuse has announced plans to file 12 suits in nine California dioceses under California's new Child Victims Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, extending the state's statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors.

People gather at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg's residence in Monsey, N.Y., Dec. 29, 2019. A machete-wielding man attacked the residence during a Hanukkah celebration the night before.

Faith leaders condemn knife attack on N.Y. rabbi

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WASHINGTON -- A host of voices from throughout the religious spectrum condemned the Dec. 28 knife attack at the suburban New York City home of a Hasidic rabbi that wounded five, one of them critically.

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