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News/International

Interior of historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in the northern French town of Saint-Omer is seen in an undated photo. A man was taken into police custody after a major fire broke out at the church in the morning hours of Sept. 2, 2024. causing its bell tower to collapse.

Bell tower at historic church in northern France collapses in arson fire

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A man was taken into police custody after a major fire broke out at the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in the northern French town of Saint-Omer in the morning hours of Sept. 2, causing its bell tower to collapse.

Pope Francis is greeted by Indonesian government and church leaders upon his arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 3, 2024. The pope plans a four-day stay in Indonesia to visit the country's Catholic community, meet government and civic officials and promote interreligious dialogue.

Pope arrives in Indonesia at start of four-nation tour

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Pope Francis landed in Jakarta after a 13-hour flight from Rome and was greeted by the religious affairs minister of Indonesia and two children in traditional dress who offered him flowers.

Guatemalan soldiers use a pile of sandbags as a trench as they take part in an operation in Cuilco, Guatemala, July 26, 2024, to protect Mexican citizens who fled to neighboring Guatemala amid armed clashes between criminal groups fighting over drug trafficking routes and other crimes.

Guatemala cardinal: Drug cartels wield 'total power' on border with Mexico

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Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, has warned that drug cartels control the border between Mexico and Guatemala, provoking spasms of violence which have sent hundreds of Mexicans fleeing into his diocese.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas watches as migrants disembark at Lajas Blancas, Panama, amid their journey through that nation's Darién Gap, during the bishop's pastoral visit amid the 10th Meeting of Bishops and Migration Pastoral Agents of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, which took place Aug. 19-23 in Panama.

Seitz at the deadly DarienGap: 'You could see the suffering in their faces'

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Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, recently spoke with OSV News following his return from the 10th Meeting of Bishops and Migration Pastoral Agents of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, which took place Aug. 19-23 in Panama.

The Shroud of Turin is pictured in a file photo during a preview for journalists at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

New study says Shroud of Turin bloodstains are 'consistent with Jesus Christ's tortures'

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A study published in July revealed that a new analysis of the Shroud of Turin, including the composition and a microscopic analysis of bloodstains, shows that the marks are consistent with the tortures endured by Christ as described in the Gospels.

In this file photo, a visitor waves China's flag as Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 22, 2019.

As 'fruit' of dialogue, China recognizes bishop, Vatican says

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After five years of refusal, the Chinese government has officially recognized Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen as bishop of Tianjin, the Vatican said, in what it called "a positive fruit of the dialogue established over the years between the Holy See and the Chinese government."

Pope Francis gives his blessing to visitors in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican after the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Aug. 25, 2024.

Pope Francis expresses concern about religious freedom in Ukraine

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"Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly: the churches are not to be touched," Pope Francis said about a Ukrainian law banning the Russian Orthodox Church, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Aug. 24, Ukrainian independence day.

Phil Donahue, host of the self-titled "The Phil Donahue Show," is pictured in a Jan. 7, 2012, photo. Donahue, a Catholic with a conflicted relationship with the church, died at age 88 on Aug. 18, 2024.

Phil Donahue and the Catholic Church

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Broadcaster and TV personality Phil Donahue, who died Aug. 18 at age 88, was once busted by Catholic News Service.

Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic rings the Olympic bell Aug. 10, 2024, as she celebrates after winning gold and setting a new Olympic record in the women's 400-meter final during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The bell, specially cast for the Games by France's Cornille Havard foundry in Normandy, will be placed inside the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during every Mass once the cathedral officially reopens in December.

Olympic bell will ring inside newly rebuilt Notre Dame Cathedral during every Mass

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During the Paris Olympic Games, track and field champions rang the bronze bell located close to the finish line at Saint-Denis' Stade de France. In December, that same bell will ring in the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral during the most sacred part of the Mass.

church destroyed by Russian shelling is pictured in Lukashivka, Ukraine, April 27, 2022.

Ukraine's religious leaders back proposed ban on Russian Orthodox Church over security concerns

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The largest organization of religious leaders in Ukraine is backing a proposal by that nation's president -- approved by Ukrainian lawmakers Aug. 20 -- to ban the Russian Orthodox Church and its affiliates, which have openly supported Russia's decade-long war on Ukraine.

Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, pictured in an undated photo, is a Christian convert in Egypt who has been imprisoned for more than two years for publicly speaking about his conversion from Islam. In a heart-wrenching letter to his wife and five children, Abdo declared a hunger strike that began Aug. 7, 2024, prompting religious freedom advocates to increase their calls for his release.

Imprisoned in Egypt, Christian convert on hunger strike

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A Christian convert in Egypt who has been imprisoned for more than two years for publicly speaking about his conversion has declared a hunger strike, prompting religious freedom advocates to increase their calls for his release.

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