News/International

Migrants walk as they disembark from a navy ship in the Sicilian harbour of Augusta. An influx of arrivals continues, spurred on by the unstable political situation in Libya. Church officials, however, have pledged to remain in Libya to minister to their flocks.

Church leaders staying put despite Libya chaos

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OXFORD, England - A Catholic official in Libya said Church leaders would remain in the country to support Muslims as well as Christians who remained.

Chaldean Bishop Frank Kalabat carries a monstrance Aug. 1 as he leads nearly 1,000 Chaldean Catholics outside Mother of God Chaldean Church in Southfield, Mich., in praying for for persecuted Iraqi Christians. The new bishop, who heads the Chaldean Eparc hy of St. Thomas the Apostle in West Bloomfield, MIch., called on the international community to recognize as genocide Muslim extremists' violence against Iraqi Christians.

U.S. Chaldeans rally in support of Iraq Christians

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DETROIT - Shouting slogans such as “Obama, Obama, where are you? Iraqi Christians need you!” and “Stop the violence in Iraq!” about 150 protest-ers marched through the streets of downtown Detroit Aug. 1 to call awareness to the violent persecution of Christians in their native land.

An earthquake survivor carries his belongings Aug. 6 in China's Yunnan province. As Chinese authorities raised the official death toll from the Aug. 3 quake, Pope Francis offered public prayers for the victims and their families.

Pope Francis offers prayers for victims of earthquake in China

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VATICAN CITY - As Chinese authorities raised the official death toll from an Aug. 3 earthquake in the southern Yunnan province, Pope Francis offered public prayers for the victims and their families.

Syriac Archbishop Ignatius Joseph III Younan.

Patriarch pleads for help to stop Christian ‘genocide’ in Iraq

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OTTAWA - The head of the Syriac Catholic Church is pleading for Western nations to intervene immediately with diplomatic and political clout to save the Middle East’s ancient Christian communities as they face “a kind of genocide.” 

Italy Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, pictured, said he had ordered the imam, Raoudi Aldelbar, to be expelled “for seriously disturbing the peace, endangering national security and religious discrimination.”

Italy expels imam for preaching hatred against Jews

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ROME - Italian officials on Tuesday (Aug. 5) moved to expel a Moroccan imam who was caught on video inciting violence against Jews during Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

A Palestinian man reacts upon seeing destruction in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Aug.1. The city was hit by Israeli shelling and airstrikes. Matthew McGarry, who directs the Catholic Relief Services' operations in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, described Gaza as a “complete catastrophe” after nearly four weeks of fighting.

Gaza on 'brink of collapse'

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AMMAN, Jordan - A top Catholic charity official described Gaza as a "complete catastrophe" after nearly four weeks of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas.

Pope Francis lifts 29-year suspension on liberation theology icon

Pope Francis lifts 29-year suspension on liberation theology icon

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VATICAN CITY - Continuing a bid to revive a movement that was sidelined by his predecessors, Pope Francis has reinstated a Central American priest who was suspended by the Vatican in the 1980s for his involvement in the political activities of Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista movement.

Activists hold flags in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 29 to show support for Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Tour operators interview by Catholic News Service say the ongoing violence in Middle East has not affected pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

Holy Land still safe for pilgrimages, says head of U.S. tour group

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WASHINGTON - The head of a Michigan-based tour company that leads trips to the Holy Land said the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas so far has not had an impact on pilgrimages he and his associates lead.

The clothing of the six Jesuit priests killed in El Salvador during the country's civil war are exhibited at the museum of the Central American University in San Salvador. The priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were killed at the univers ity Nov. 16, 1989, by members of an army unit during a military offensive.

In El Salvador, seeing firsthand the legacy of murdered Jesuits

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Standing at the edge of the garden where six Jesuit priests were killed in 1989, Echol Nix is clear about the message he is taking home with him to the United States.

Jesuits tell their alumni in Congress: Protect border children

Jesuits tell their alumni in Congress: Protect border children

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American Jesuits are pushing members of Congress who were educated at the Catholic order’s schools to pass aid for thousands of refugee children who have surged across the border in Texas in recent months, calling proposals to swiftly deport them “inhumane and an insult to American values.”

Sex workers and their supporters participate in a July 22 march demanding an end to stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. The march, held during the the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, concluded with a cand lelight vigil in which participants remembered all who have died of HIV- and AIDS-related causes.

AIDS activists praise progress, warn about lingering danger of HIV

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MELBOURNE, Australia - Catholic AIDS activists said they are encouraged by the steady progress being made against HIV, but warned against complacency.

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