News/International

WASHINGTON -- The rabbi of a Pittsburgh Jewish community where 11 people were killed by a gunman in October told a worldwide meeting of religious freedom activists that only by rejecting racism and bigotry can violence in the name of religion be overcome.

BEIRUT -- The first time a band of Islamic State militants "visited" the monks, they presented the monks with a kind of suggestion, in a nonthreatening manner: "Why don't you become a Muslim?"

WASHINGTON -- The Pew Research Center's annual report on restrictions on religion worldwide showed the United States had the worst scores in the Americas in three of the eight categories Pew surveyed.

DOHUK, Iraq -- Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Louis Sako is concerned by rising tensions between the United States and Iran, fearful that his country, Iraq, could be caught in the middle of any potential conflict. It has also made a proposed visit by Pope Francis to Iraq next year uncertain, he said.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Deacon Jose Montoya stares in horror. What if the vicious surprise punch had hit an elderly monk instead of on his own face? Such a blow might have killed a frailer man. And what if the attacker had wielded a knife or a gun?

The Jesuits of North America are calling out the government of Honduras for “the deterioration of the rule of law,” and backing up a condemnation of Honduras’ political class by the country’s conference of Catholic bishops.

VATICAN CITY -- As the Catholic Church in Chile continues to deal with the fallout of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up, the Chilean government passed a law removing the statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes against children.

WASHINGTON -- In a July 11 announcement from the Rose Garden, President Donald Trump said he was ending his efforts to add a citizenship question to the census and would instead direct federal agencies by executive order to provide data about the country's citizens and noncitizens to the U.S. Commerce Department.

WASHINGTON -- The directors of "Unplanned," the life-affirming, true story of a Planned Parenthood clinic director turned pro-life activist, described a White House summit on social media as a needed opportunity for conservatives to discuss how Facebook, Twitter and Google and other outlets are shutting out their voices.

MANCHESTER, England -- A top British official said the government would commit itself to a robust defense of persecuted Christians following a new report into their plight.