News/International

Retired Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Jerusalem, Maronite Catholic Bishop Moussa El-Hage of Haifa and the Holy Land and Father Bishara Suleiman gather during a prayer service at the Benedictine C hurch of the Multiplication in Tabgha, Israel June 21. Arsonists attacked the church June 18, lighting several fires that caused significant damage to the roof and two rooms, but the church, with its 5th-century mosaic floor, survived.

Christians call for justice in demonstration at Galilee church hit by arson

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JERUSALEM - Druze, Muslims and Jews joined thousands of Christians in a demonstration in Galilee three days after an arson attack seriously damaged the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication.

Iraqi Christian children scamper Jan. 21 inside a new camp for displaced religious minorities on the outskirts of Ainkawa, Iraq.

Papal envoy, Maronite patriarch visit displaced Christians in Iraq

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BEIRUT - Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, representing Pope Francis, and Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite Catholic patriarch, traveled to Irbil, Iraq, to meet with Christians who had fled from Islamic State forces.

In this Dec. 14, 2013 file photo, a same-sex couple marries in Jalisco, Mexico.

Mexico Supreme Court ruling makes same-sex marriages legal nationwide

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MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Supreme Court has declared state-level laws, defining marriage only as the union of a man and a woman, discriminatory and unconstitutional. The decision, in effect, legalizes same-sex marriages in all 31 of the country's states.

People living in shelters receive bread trays donated by members of the Donetsk People's Republic militias in Ilovaysk, Ukraine, in this Aug. 14, 2014 file photo,

Archbishop wants G-7, Vatican to do more to ensure Ukraine's security

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WARSAW, Poland - The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church expressed concern that the world's richest countries are failing to honour a 1994 agreement that promised Ukraine security for giving up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons.

Mourners cast shadows on the wall of a makeshift memorial at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., June 18. Nine people were murdered the day before during a Bible study session at the church.

People express heartache, outrage as they mourn shooting victims

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WASHINGTON - The tragic taking of nine lives at a historically black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, brought an outpouring of solidarity, compassion and sorrow from around the country.

Pope Francis called for a strengthening between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Pope Francis chides world powers for failing to push for peace in Syria

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on June 19 criticized world powers for their failure to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, saying the country’s Christians had been united by “the blood of the martyrs” lost in war.

A couple takes a guided rafting trip inside the Grand Canyon in Arizona Sept. 14, 2014.

Church leaders see encyclical as opening new wave of climate action

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MEXICO CITY - Pope Francis aims to touch the hearts of people so that they act to stem climate change and change their lifestyle to reduce negative impacts on the planet in his encyclical on the environment, said a priest at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Fire damaged the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee in Israel following a June 18 blaze. The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against the early morning arson attack.

Religious leaders decry arson at Jerusalem church

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JERUSALEM - The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against an early morning arson attack on the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee on June 18.

Sister Mary Thecla of the Daughters of St. Paul prays outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. June 19. Two days prior, nine people were murdered during a Bible study session at the church.

Emanuel AME Church: the latest victim of violence against black churches

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For many, the massacre at a black church in Charleston, S.C., is simply another mass shooting. But for African-Americans, church violence has historic dimensions.

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 17.

Papal fan club takes to the media after encyclical

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of a rabbinical letter on climate change, said he can sum up his response to Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical on the environment in one word:

Hallelujah.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Orthodox Metropolitan John of Pergamon, hold copies of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment before a news conference at the Vatican June 18. The encyclical is titled, "Laudato Si', on Care for our Common Home."

From border to academia, enthusiasm for papal encyclical runs high

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WASHINGTON - Long before Pope Francis' encyclical on care for creation was released, it was providing a boost for a group of women struggling to keep the negative influences of modern-day life from erasing valued Mexican traditions and treasured cultural practices along the Mexico-Texas border.

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