News/International

DETROIT -- The Archdiocese of Detroit is seeking to contact anyone who may have received invalid sacraments after a priest of the archdiocese learned his own baptism as an infant 30 years ago was invalid.

WASHINGTON -- The normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates can be a step for peace in the Middle East, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

GROSSE ILE, Mich. -- Authorities found the body of Robert Chiles, 52, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Trenton, late Aug. 18 after a search of the Detroit River where he and Father Stephen Rooney, St. Joseph's pastor, went missing Aug. 16 after their boat capsized.

MANILA, Philippines -- A human rights activist and church social worker was shot dead in the Philippines Aug. 17 in what colleagues say was most probably an extrajudicial killing carried out by state agents.

SYDNEY -- In an exclusive interview prerecorded and aired at a U.S. conference, Cardinal George Pell reminded his audience how important the church in the U.S. is for world Catholicism and Western civilization.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The Zimbabwean government's crackdown on dissent terrifies people, the country's bishops said in a pastoral letter that also noted alarming levels of corruption.

WARSAW, Poland -- Catholic leaders urged dialogue and restraint in Belarus, amid violent street clashes following a contested Aug. 9 presidential election.

KNOCK, Ireland -- The Marian shrine at Knock announced Aug. 10 that in addition to postponing the popular Knock Novena and pilgrimage because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shrine and its church would be closed for the Aug. 15 feast of the Assumption of Mary to ensure pilgrims do not arrive anyway.

AMMAN, Jordan -- Viewing the burned wasteland of the Beirut port, one’s eye catches a grey concrete slab in the foreground. It bears this stark message scribbled by the Lebanese in black ink: “My Government Did This.”