News/International

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.

American confidence in organized religion has hit a new low, ranking behind the military, small business and the police, according to a recent survey.

Americans’ confidence in religion hits a new low


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Americans have less confidence in organized religion today than ever measured before — a sign that the Church could be “losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation’s culture,” a new Gallup survey finds.

A Pew Research survey found that more than 68 per cent of American self-identified Catholics say that the “Earth is warming.” In this July 2014 photo, St. Francis Sister Jane Frances Omler, right, and St. Francis Sister Jacqueline Doepker talk in front of solar panels near the energy-efficient straw-bale house they helped build in Tiffin, Ohio.

Pope Francis' stern climate encyclical faces deep political divides

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A new survey finds U.S. Catholics — like most Americans — are divided along political lines when it comes to the cause and urgency of climate change. And Pope Francis, in a leaked copy of a hotly anticipated encyclical, goes straight at it.

U.S. Franciscan Father Michael Perry, minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, is pictured at the Franciscan headquarters in Rome June 12. Father Perry discussed "Laudato Si'," the title of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, which is taken from a hymn by St. Francis of Assisi.

Franciscan: Encyclical title affirms all creatures have common creator

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ROME - "Laudato Si'," the title Pope Francis chose for his encyclical on the environment, comes from a hymn of praise by St. Francis of Assisi that emphasizes being in harmony with God, with other creatures and with other human beings, said the head of the Franciscan order.

Pope Francis reassured Colombia president Juan Manuel Santos Calderon of prayers for peace.

Pope meets Colombian president, gives assurance of prayer for peace

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said planning for a possible visit to Colombia would be accelerated by a peace agreement in the country, said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, following his meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican June 15.

A young girl smiles as she embraces Pope Francis during an audience for families participating in the pastoral conference of the Diocese of Rome in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 14.

Children need heterosexual parents, says Pope after gay pride march

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis stressed the importance of children having heterosexual parents June 14, just a day after Rome’s gay pride march demonstrated the changing attitudes about same-sex couples outside the Vatican walls.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of St. Paul and Minneapolis. They are pictured in a combination photo. On June 5 the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was criminally charged with failing to protect children.

Pope accepts resignations of St. Paul archbishop, auxiliary

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ST. PAUL, Minn. - Pope Francis accepted the resignations June 15 of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of St. Paul and Minneapolis and named coadjutor Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Newark, New Jersey, a canon lawyer, to be apostolic administrator of the Minnesota archdiocese.

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