News/International

A statue of Mary defaced July 10, 2020, is seen on the grounds of Cathedral Prep School and Seminary in the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. In the Los Angeles Archdiocese, Catholics said they are worried a July 11 fire that ravaged a historic mission church there and is still under investigation could be part of attacks on the Catholic Church, like the vandalization of statues.

Statues of Mary vandalized in weekend of Catholic church attacks

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Boston police are investigating an arson attack on a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saturday night, the second attack in the U.S. on a statue of the Virgin Mary in two days, and during the same weekend in which two Catholic church fires are being investigated for arson.

The Atomic Bomb Dome is seen in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 2019.

Bishops renew nuclear disarmament call as 1945 bombing anniversary nears

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WASHINGTON -- Members of a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' committee renewed a long-standing call for nuclear disarmament as the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of two Japanese cities neared.

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in San Gabriel, Calif., caught fire before sunrise July 11, 2020.

Fire ravages historic California mission, but community vows to rebuild

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LOS ANGELES -- The fire that ravaged Mission San Gabriel Arcangel church in the predawn hours of July 11 left behind a haunting scene.

Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala, Fla., is seen July 13, 2020, after it was set ablaze by a suspect who drove his van through the front doors two days earlier.

Arrest made in Florida Catholic church burning

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- A man crashed his van through the doors of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Ocala, Florida, early in the morning July 11 and once inside, the church's pastor said, the man set the interior of the church ablaze and drove off.

Staff at the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo, once the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, announced there were no more patients with coronavirus in the intensive care unit.

Hard-hit Italian hospital has no more COVID-19 patients in intensive care

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ROME -- Staff at the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo -- once the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy -- announced they had no more patients with coronavirus in their intensive care unit.

Salvadoran Gen. Rene Emilio Ponce, right, and his colleagues, Colonels Francisco Elena Fuentes, left, and Inocente Orlando Montano, center, are pictured in a 2000 photo during a news conference denying involvement in the 1989 deaths of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.

'High command' gave order to kill Salvadoran Jesuits in '89

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MEXICO CITY -- A former Salvadoran army officer has testified that the "high command" gave orders to eliminate Jesuits priests during the country's civil war. He also said the Central American country's president would have known of the crimes to be committed and did not intervene.

A woman removes dry clothes from her home in a poor section of Tripoli, Lebanon, July 1, 2020. Lebanese have seen their national currency lose 80% of its value against the U.S. dollar, a majority currency also used in the country, since nationwide protests erupted in October.

Christian leaders say Lebanon could face famine, economic ruin

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AMMAN, Jordan -- Lebanon's Christian authorities have accused political leaders of plunging the nation into economic ruin and potential famine as the tiny Mediterranean country faces it worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

A photo is seen near the casket of Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, brother of retired Pope Benedict XVI, during his funeral Mass at the cathedral in Regensburg , Germany, July 8, 2020.

Benedict XVI follows his brother's funeral virtually

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REGENSBURG, Germany -- Retired Pope Benedict XVI followed the funeral of his brother, Georg Ratzinger, via live streaming, reported the German Catholic news agency KNA.

Father Andrzej Halemba is seen in a 2017 file photo carrying a crucifix during a procession of the Christians in Qaraqosh, Iraq.

New report says Iraqi Christians could face extinction

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Without immediate action from the international community, Christians in northern Iraq could be endangered with extinction, warns a new report from the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need.

A Somali woman sells fruits to a customer standing at a social distancing marker in late April in Mogadishu, Somalia, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corruption in Somalia complicates aid during pandemic

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Corruption in Somalia complicates the battle against the spread of COVID-19 in the Horn of Africa country, a representative of Caritas said.

Father Robert McWilliams, 39, a priest in the Diocese of Cleveland, was being held on $100,000 bond in Cuyahoga County Jail Dec. 6, 2019, a day after he was taken into custody at St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville. The priest is facing charges of possessing child pornography following his arrest at the suburban Cleveland parish. He is pictured in an undated photo.

Cleveland priest faces multiple federal child pornography charges

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CLEVELAND -- A grand jury indicted a Catholic priest on federal charges involving child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children.

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