News/International

Archbishop Luigi Ventura served as Apostolic Nuncio to Canada for eight years, from 2001 to 2009.

Investigations begin on sexual assault claim against former apostolic nuncio to Canada

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VATICAN – Italian Archbishop Luigi Ventura, 74, a Vatican diplomat who once served in Canada, Chile and western Africa, is under investigation by police in Paris for allegedly sexually assaulting a city official.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attend a memorial Feb. 15, 2018, following a school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Feb. 14 marks the first anniversary of the shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members at the school.

Florida Catholic school's prayer service marks one year since MSD high school shooting

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PARKLAND, Fla. – One day before the anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, neighboring Mary Help of Christians School held a prayer service to pay tribute to the victims.
Two Yanomami men speak at a gathering of indigenous people from throughout the Amazon in Leticia, Colombia, Feb. 2, 2019. Rafael Noteno Capinoa, a Kichwa Indian, worries about what could happen to the forest around his village on Peru's Napo River if an oil company begins drilling in the area.

What Indigenous People of the Amazon want the Church to know

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LETICIA, Colombia – Rafael Noteno Capinoa, a Kichwa Indian, worries about what could happen to the forest around his village on Peru's Napo River if an oil company begins drilling in the area.
Pope Francis has named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 71, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to serve as the camerlengo or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church. Cardinal Farrell is pictured in a Sept. 9, 2018, photo.

Pope names Cardinal Farrell to serve as chamberlain of the Church

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VATICAN – Pope Francis has named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 71, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to serve as the camerlengo or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church.
Pope Francis addresses the governing council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development at the headquarters of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome Feb. 14, 2019.

Pope encourages sustainable development in rural areas to eradicate poverty, hunger

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ROME – Sustainable development in rural areas is key to making poverty and hunger a thing of the past, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis meets with Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer of Microsoft, at Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican Feb. 13, 2019.

Pope Francis meets head of Microsoft to discuss ethics in technology, artificial intelligence

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VATICAN – The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, told Pope Francis that a "human voice" was needed to speak up in the world of technology today.
After a year of scandal upon scandal, Pope Francis will be front and centre when the heads of the conferences of bishops are in Rome Feb. 21-24 to address clerical sexual abuse and safeguarding minors.

Doing the right thing: Abuse summit aims to put the world’s bishops on the same page

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Ever since Pope Francis announced in September that he was calling the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome for an unprecedented summit on sexual abuse, expectations have been mounting.

A boy attends Mass with his family at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Singapore April 2, 2010. "The scandals abroad are a wake-up call for us, as the Catholic Church in Singapore has not been spared allegations of child abuse," Singapore Archbishop William Goh said.

Only a matter of time: Abuse allegations from Asia make some worry that more to follow

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BANGKOK – Recent credible sexual abuse allegations in India and East Timor have underscored the fears of many in the church that clerical sex abuse is rife in South, Southeast and North Asia, which have a collective population of at least 120 million Catholics.
A Yanomami Indian stands near an illegal gold mine during a Brazilian government operation against illegal gold mining on indigenous land in the heart of the Amazon rainforest April 17, 2016.

Bishop downplays idea that Amazon synod will criticize Brazil's policies

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SAO PAOLO – Responding to news reports that the Brazilian intelligence agency was monitoring the Catholic Church, the secretary-general of the bishops' conference downplayed the idea that prelates would use the October Synod of Bishops on the Amazon to criticize their government's policies.
A mother plays with her triplets and other son at a park in St. Louis April 24.

Hungary to end income tax for moms of at least four to address plummeting population

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BUDAPEST, Hungary – In an effort to encourage Hungarians to have more babies, the prime minister of the country has announced that women with four children or more will be exempt from paying income tax for life.
Venezuelan Roberto Sanchez, his wife and two young daughters pose for a photo in Cucuta, Colombia Feb. 9, 2019. The family lived at a Catholic-run shelter for the first two weeks, then moved out, only to be evicted by their landlord. Now they are living in the street and sell sweets to make a living, while they save up to rent a new place.

Colombian cardinal encourages humanitarian aid for Venezuelans

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CUCUTA, Colombia – The bishop of a Colombian diocese bordering Venezuela has said that “we can't be still” in face of the Venezuelan people's suffering, and noted that the Church has responded to the humanitarian crisis from its beginning.
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