News/International

Protesters hold their hands in the air during an Aug. 16 demonstration against the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The unarmed teen was shot and killed Aug. 9 by a police officer.

Archbishop urges prayers for peace to calm Ferguson chaos

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ST. LOUIS - Residents of Ferguson "are struggling to find peace in the chaos" that has followed the shooting death of an unarmed teen by a police officer and "as people of Christ, we are struggling to find direction in the unrest," said Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis.

Palestinians in Gaza walk next to the ruins of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, on the fifth day of cease-fire in Gaza Aug.18.

Gazans, aid workers wait to see if truce will be renewed

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AMMAN, Jordan - Humanitarians and the people of the Gaza Strip are apprehensive about whether there will be a renewal of the truce between Israel and the militant Hamas, said a U.S. Catholic aid official.

Kim Bok-dong, 88, poses for a photo in her room at a woman's shelter for "comfort women" in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 19. She was among seven "comfort women" who had a private audience with Pope Francis before his final Mass during in South Korea the prev ious day.

Former sex slave says she still feels impact of meeting with Pope Francis

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SEOUL, South Korea - A day after Pope Francis left South Korea, a former sex slave who spent a few minutes with the pontiff said she still felt the impact of their meeting.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard the papal flight from Seoul, South Korea, to Rome Aug. 18.

Pope Francis backs use of force to stop Iraq aggressor

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SEOUL, South Korea - Pope Francis said the use of force can be justified to stop "unjust aggressors" such as Islamic State militants in northeastern Iraq, but he declined to endorse U.S. military airstrikes against the militants and said such humanitarian interventions should not be decided on by any single country.

Children flee violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar, Iraq. Cardinal Fernando Filoni said international action is necessary to guarantee the possibility of survival in Iraq.

Cardinal, patriarch call for international action to liberate Iraq

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' personal envoy to the suffering people of Iraq joined the Chaldean Catholic patriarch in launching an appeal to the international community Aug. 18, pleading for help to liberate villages controlled by the Islamic State terrorists and to provide the displaced with international protection.

Actor Robin Williams is seen in this 2007 file photo. He was found dead Aug. 11 at his home in Northern California from an apparent suicide, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said.

Robin Williams' death reignites questions about suicide

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After 35 years of providing counseling and a Catholic outreach to families with a loved one who died by suicide, Fr. Charles Rubey has consulted on more than his share of the resulting funerals or wakes.

Pope Francis celebrates the beatification Mass of Paul Yun Ji-chung and 123 martyred companions in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 16.

800,000 watch as Pope Francis moves 124 Korean martyrs closer to sainthood

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SEOUL, South Korea - Pope Francis placed 124 Korean martyrs on the last step toward sainthood in a beatification Mass Aug. 16 that brought elation to the 800,000 people in attendance.

Pope Francis leads the audience in a silent prayer for Korean reunification during a meeting with Asian youth at the Sanctuary of Solmoe in South Korea Aug. 15.

Pope says forgiveness key to reconciling divided Korea

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SEOUL, South Korea - Addressing young people from Korea and other Asian countries on their concerns about the future, Pope Francis said the best hope for reunification of the divided Korean peninsula lay in brotherly love and a spirit of forgiveness.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the feast of the Assumption in World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, South Korea, Aug. 15.

At stadium Mass, pope tells Koreans to resist materialism

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SEOUL, South Korea - Celebrating Mass before some 50,000 people, Pope Francis prayed that Christian values overcome demoralization in economically successful societies.

Two Palestinian sisters walk among the rubble of their destroyed home in the Gaza Strip Aug. 12. A senior Catholic aid official said humanitarians are "trying to pick of the pieces" of Gaza's badly destroyed infrastructure, hoping that the truce between Israel and the militant Hamas will hold.

Aid agencies try to 'pick up the pieces' in Gaza

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AMMAN, Jordan - A senior Catholic aid official said humanitarian agencies are "trying to pick up the pieces" of Gaza's badly destroyed infrastructure, desperately hoping that the declared truce between Israel and the militant Hamas will hold.

A demonstrator marches with crutches outside the U.S. consulate in Irbil, Iraq, Aug. 11. The pope's envoy to the region, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, said people still do not know what will become of terrorized Christians.

Western leaders press governments to help Iraqi minorities

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WASHINGTON - Western leaders pressed their governments to increase humanitarian efforts on behalf of persecuted Christians and other minorities in northern Iraq.

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