News/International

A woman celebrates as she awaits the release of balloons into the sky along the former path of the Berlin Wall in Berlin Nov. 9. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope Francis said the sudden end to the division of Europe was prepared by the prayers and sacrifice of many people, including St. John Paul II.

Pope hails role of St. John Paul in Berlin Wall's fall

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VATICAN CITY - Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope Francis said the sudden end to the division of Europe was prepared by the prayers and sacrifice of many people, including St. John Paul II.

Counselors, teachers and volunteers with Catholic Relief Service are being trained to help refugee children in Syria process their trauma through the use of puppets such as these.

When puppets meet Syrian refugees, healing begins for children

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BEIRUT - Syrian children who have seen their houses bombed and family members killed are using string, glue, socks, beads and other odds and ends to help put their lives back together.

Bishop David R. Choby

Backers of Tennessee abortion measure credit prayer, Church support for passage

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Supporters of Amendment 1 said the measure to restore Tennessee lawmakers' authority to regulate abortion passed Nov. 4 because of the backing by Catholic and other religious leaders and their churches.

Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, Nigeria, president of the Nigerian bishops' conference, speaks in Manchester, England, Nov. 6 on his country's Ebola efforts and contrasting with its lack of aggression in addressing Islamic extremism.

Archbishop says Nigeria must find political will to stop Islamist militants

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MANCHESTER, England - The president of the Nigerian bishops' conference said his country's government could defeat the Boko Haram Islamist militant group if it could muster the same political will it found to fight Ebola.

Father Guyo Waqo was among five people found guilty and sentenced to death for the 2005 slaying of Italian Bishop Luigi Locati (pictured).

Priest among five convicted of bishop's 2005 slaying in Kenya

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NAIROBI, Kenya - A Catholic priest was among five people found guilty and sentenced to death for the 2005 slaying of Italian Bishop Luigi Locati.

Pakistani members of the Christian minority and civil society activists light candles Nov. 5 to protest the killing of a Christian couple accused of blasphemy. Catholic leaders in Pakistan protested the Nov. 4 beating to death and burning of Shahzad Masi h, 28, and his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, 24, who were accused of desecrating the Quran.

Church protests beating deaths of Pakistani Christian couple accused of blasphemy

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THRISSUR, India - Catholic leaders in Pakistan protested the Nov. 4 beatings and burning of a young Christian couple accused of desecrating the Quran.

Soldiers hit an anti-government protester with a stick in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 30. Burkina Faso's Catholic bishops sent a "message of peace and hope" to the West African country after its 27-year president, Blaise Compaore, fled prompting a mi litary takeover.

Burkina Faso bishops urge return of civilian rule

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OXFORD, England - Burkina Faso's Catholic bishops sent a "message of peace and hope" to the West African country after its 27-year president, Blaise Compaore, fled prompting a military takeover.

Prince Charles

Christian persecution gains notice from Prince Charles, Catholic group

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MANCHESTER, England - The heir to the British throne suggested that Islamic leaders must speak out against the persecution of Christians by Muslims if they are to guarantee freedom within their own countries.

Brittany Maynard is pictured with husband Dan Diaz in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters Nov. 3. The 29-year-old woman who was suffering from terminal brain cancer ended her life Nov. 1 in Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide is legal. Ma ynard's decision was praised by assisted suicide advocates, but pro-life leaders called it a tragedy.

Vatican ethicist: No dignity in Brittany Maynard’s physician-assisted death

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican’s top ethicist condemned Brittany Maynard’s decision to end her life, saying there was no dignity in her physician-assisted death.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York presides at an August Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The Archdiocese of New York announced it will close more than 30 by August 2015 as part of a reorganization initiative that will merge 116 parishes i nto 56.

NY archdiocese, one of the world’s grandest, shrinks

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NEW YORK - The Archdiocese of New York, with the second-largest Catholic population in the country and an unparalleled place in U.S. Church history, is shrinking: Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Nov. 2 announced that nearly a third of the archdiocese’s 368 parishes would be merging, and some would close.

Brittany Maynard, a young California woman who was suffering from terminal brain cancer and gained national attention for her plan to use Oregon's assisted suicide law, ended her life Nov. 1.

Woman's suicide called tragedy, symbol of 'culture of death' in U.S.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Brittany Maynard, a young California woman who was suffering from terminal brain cancer and gained national attention for her plan to use Oregon's assisted suicide law, ended her life Nov. 1. She was 29 years old.

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