News/International

Visitors look at historic costumes worn by actors of several theater companies to represent some of the plays by British playwright William Shakespeare during July's Almagro's Classical Theatre Festival in Almagro, Spain. New historical research suggests that Shakespeare was a secret Catholic at a time when the faith faced persecution in England.

Experts, historians explore Shakespeare's Catholic sympathies

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STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, England - Inside this town's recently refurbished Royal Shakespeare Theater, a massed audience, banked on three floors, gazes attentively out over a wide, brightly lit stage.

Pope Francis kisses the hand of a woman during a ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem May 26.

Remembering the Holocaust after the survivors are gone

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As aging Holocaust survivors gathered at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to celebrate its 20th anniversary last year, a question hung in the air: How will the world remember the Holocaust — the Nazis’ systematic murder of six million Jews —  when the last survivors are gone?

St. John's Roman Catholic Church on the Creighton University campus at Omaha, Nebraska, United States.

Bishops object as Catholic universities offer same-sex benefits

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The decision by a Jesuit university in Nebraska to provide benefits to spouses of gay employees has prompted a strong protest from the local archbishop, the latest skirmish in a battle that seems likely to widen as gay marriage becomes more common.

Cardinal Luis A. Tagle of Manila, Philippines

Poverty message lost among Synod's squabbles, cardinal says

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MANILA, Philippines - Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila said the Synod of Bishops on the family was more than a series of discussions on divorce and gay unions and that the impact of poverty on families, especially in Asia, was a major concern of participants.

Italian Coast Guard and Guardia di Finanza vessels gather at the spot where 366 migrants perished in the 2013 Lampedusa migrant boat disaster during a commemoration ceremony Oct. 3. Catholic bishops and aid agencies have condemned a European Union plan t o scale down the rescue of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean Sea.

Church leaders deplore European plans to reduce refugee rescues

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OXFORD, England - Catholic bishops and aid agencies criticized a move by European nations to scale down the rescue of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, where hundreds drown each month attempting to reach Europe.

 

Smoke rise over Syrian town of Kobani after an Oct. 21 airstrike.

Nuncio says 'unfair situation' in Middle East needs 'adequate response'

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UNITED NATIONS - Peace in the Middle East "can only be sought through negotiated settlements and not through unilateral choices imposed with the use of force," said Archbishop Berardito Auza, the Vatican's UN nuncio.

A protester holds a sign during a May 8 march in Cape Town, South Africa, in support of the girls kidnapped in Nigeria. Fr. John Bakeni, secretary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri, expressed doubts about the negotiations between the Nigerian government and the militant group Boko Haram from he release of 200 abducted school girls.

Negotiations with Boko Haram a farce, says Catholic priest

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NAIROBI, Kenya - While the Nigerian government negotiates with the Islamic militant group Boko Haram for the release of 200 abducted schoolgirls, some Church leaders in the country’s conflict-ridden north are expressing doubts about any impending resolution.

A priest kneels next to the grave of a soldier at a Ukrainian military camp near the eastern Ukrainian town Kramatorsk Oct. 26. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claimed a landslide victory for pro-western parties Oct. 26 in the country's key parliamentary elections.

Observers see Ukrainian election as concrete step toward reform

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VATICAN CITY - With international observers reporting largely free and fair parliamentary elections in Ukraine, hopes increased that promised reforms would follow, including an end to high levels of government corruption.

James Foley's mother, Diane Foley, right, sits next to El Periodico de Cataluna newspaper journalist Marc Marginedas during an Oct. 14 meeting of the Catalonian Journalist Association in Barcelona. The parents of slain U.S. journalist James Foley have re ceived an award on their son's behalf from the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Mother of James Foley says faith, people's prayers kept her son strong

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WASHINGTON - Prayers from around the world and an unwavering faith in God have continued to provide a strong foundation for John and Diane Foley after their son, journalist James Foley, was murdered in Syria by Islamic State militants Aug. 19.

Members of the youth symphony orchestra rehearse at Polígono Industrial Don Bosco, located in a crime-ridden area of San Salvador, El Salvador.

Salvadoran youths find music provides path to escape cycle of violence

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Eleven-year-old Jamin Diaz is finding that music and his participation in a symphony orchestra are giving him the chance to steer clear of violence that plagues his country.

Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, a human rights activist, center, walks after an Oct. 26 meeting with Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College "Raul Isidro Burgos" students, in Ayotzinapa. Mexico. Forty-three students went missing in Iguala, Mexico, Sept. 2 6 after clashing with police and masked men. Authorities fear that the 43 missing trainee teachers could have been massacred by police in league with gang members.

Mexican Church responds in case of missing students

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MEXICO CITY - The Archdiocese of Mexico City called for a "reconstruction of the country" in response to the disappearance of 43 teacher trainees in an act that authorities allege was authored by a mayor and his wife and carried out by police working alongside an organized crime network.

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