News/International
Kenya’s Catholic Church to fight hunger by farming its vast land reserves
By Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News ServiceNAIROBI, Kenya - Drying livestock carcasses and anguished faces of hungry women and children have become a common feature here as droughts increase due to climate change.
Catholics urged to support Middle East Christians on Good Friday
By Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY - Iraqi and Syrian refugees who have fled persecution in their homelands and the Palestinian Christians struggling to survive in the land of Jesus deserve the prayers and material support of Catholics around the globe, a Vatican official said.
In El Salvador, vandals damage statue of Archbishop Romero -- again
By Edgardo Ayala, Catholic News ServiceSAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Vandals have damaged a prominent statue of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero, recently declared a martyr.
As Islamic State steps up attacks, Christian leaders call for help
By Dale Gavlak, Catholic News ServiceAMMAN, Jordan - Christian leaders again called for help for Assyrian Christians as Islamic State militants stepped up their attacks against their towns in northern Syria.
Investigation of stolen Michelangelo notes underway after ransom demand
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY - A top Vatican official received a ransom demand for the return of Renaissance-era documents by the artist Michelangelo.
Knights of Columbus send in humanitarian aid to Ukraine's Catholics
By Catholic News ServiceNEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Knights of Columbus is providing $400,000 to relief programs sponsored by the Catholic Church in Ukraine.
Vatican official to U.N. council: No one is exempt from climate change
By Catholic News ServiceGENEVA - No one is exempt from either the impacts of climate change or the moral responsibility to act to address this global concern, a Vatican official told members of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Holy See representative urges all states to abolish death penalty
By Laura Ieraci, Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church firmly opposes the death penalty and urges all states to move toward its abolition, said the Vatican's permanent observer to United Nations agencies in Geneva.
Cardinal Edward Egan, former New York archbishop, dies at 82
By David Gibson, Religion News ServiceNEW YORK - Cardinal Edward Egan, who served as archbishop of New York through the trauma of the 9/11 terror attacks and the clergy sex abuse scandal but was best known for administrative acumen that helped solidify the finances of the sprawling archdiocese, died March 5. He was 82.
Poll: Pope Francis nearly as popular as St. John Paul II among U.S. Catholics
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON - Everyone has a high opinion of Pope Francis. Well, almost everyone.
German archdiocese plans new residents for old abbey: refugees
By Anian Christoph Wimmer, Catholic News ServiceBEUERBERG, Germany - Cold winter light is streaming through the ancient windows of Beuerberg Abbey. It plays on the wood of the empty choir stalls, shimmers on the bronze hand bell of the prioress. Everything is quiet and ready for the next prayer.