News/International

BALTIMORE - Even after Tom Clancy became an international best-selling novelist whose fans included the likes of President Ronald Reagan, the Baltimore-born writer never forgot the role his hometown Catholic education played in giving him the tools to his success.

VATICAN CITY - An international obligation to intervene in situations of war or widespread violations of human rights does not mean a country or group of countries can decide to take military action in another nation, said the Vatican's foreign minister.

WASHINGTON - Anticipating the worst, American religious leaders gathered the day before the federal government shut down to denounce what they called "political brinkmanship."

YEREVAN, Armenia - Thousands of previously middle-class Syrians now stranded in Armenia are rapidly running out of resources and could soon have no shelter, food or medicine, said an international aid group official.

VATICAN CITY - As part of its continuing efforts to promote transparency and to demonstrate its stability and adherence to industry standards, the Vatican bank published its annual report for the first time in its history.

SAINTE-ADÈLE, QUE. - More than 350 Egyptian Christian churches, homes and business have been attacked and burned since the Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohamed Morsi was deposed in July, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Mina told Canada’s Catholic bishops.

WARSAW, Poland - Churches in Ukraine are opposing expanded freedoms for homosexuals as a precondition for closer ties with the Europe Union.

AMMAN, Jordan - A priest with strong interfaith ties in the Middle East said the global superpowers must find a political resolution to the Syrian civil war and humanitarian crisis but cautioned any armed intervention would result in longer-term instability.

Church governance, prayer, Jesuit spirituality, preaching, hope, gender equality, art, music, novels, the Second Vatican Council, prayer — in 12,000 words Pope Francis had plenty to talk about in an exclusive interview that made international headlines.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Dominican-run Providence College said the provost's decision to cancel a guest lecture supporting same-sex marriage is "not really about academic freedom, but rather goes to the meaning of being a Catholic college."