News/International

TORONTO - A world Church needs a world perspective and Pope Francis knows it, Cardinal Oswald Gracias told The Catholic Register on a visit to Toronto Aug. 9.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - While the shores of Lake Albano are speckled with swimmers and sunbathers, the historic centre of Castel Gandolfo has been quiet this summer — too quiet for many.

CAIRO - A Coptic Catholic bishop who served as a member of the assembly that drafted Egypt's 2012 constitution said his country will not have a civil war, and foreign powers — including the United Nations — should not interfere.

TORONTO - Canada’s Coptic Christians are tethered to their phones and computers, watching their old parishes, neighbourhoods and communities in Egypt burn. Revenge attacks by supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi have targeted churches and Christian-owned businesses.

OXFORD, England - A spokesman for Egypt's Catholic Church defended a police and army crackdown against Egyptians protesting the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi.

VATICAN CITY - As the official death toll rose from clashes Aug. 14 in Egypt and as the damage done to Christian churches was being assessed, Pope Francis invoked Mary, queen of peace, to bring calm to the country.

WASHINGTON - The creation of the Office for Engagement with Faith-Based Communities at the U.S. State Department, announced Aug. 7, follows long-
standing criticism that U.S. diplomacy has been too separated from the realities of the importance of religion.

JERUSALEM - Coveted as a spiritual and political capital by both Israelis and Palestinians, the status of the city of Jerusalem has stood out as one of the pivotal topics in their ongoing peace negotiations.

NEW DELHI - Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka, expressed "shock and distress" in accusing the military of storming a Catholic church and firing on residents who had sought refuge there.

VATICAN CITY - At the request of a man allegedly abused by a priest in 1965, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his case claiming the Vatican was the priest's employer and could be liable for damages.