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April 8, 2019

Pope urges students to see human actions behind suffering, war

Pope Francis greets students from Milan's Istituto San Carlo during an audience at the Vatican April 6, 2019.

VATICAN CITY - God does not play favorites, but human beings do in little ways at school and in big ways with the global economy, Pope Francis told students from Milan's Istituto San Carlo, a school with students from prekindergarten through high school.

Published in Vatican
February 5, 2019

‘More must be done’ for abused women religious, Pope says

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard his flight from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to Rome Feb. 5, 2019. Also pictured are Msgr. Mauricio Rueda, papal trip planner, and Alessandro Gisotti, interim Vatican spokesman.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT – The clerical sex abuse of women religious is a problem in the Church and more must be done about it, said Pope Francis.

Published in International
December 3, 2018

Ukrainians have 'sacred duty' to defend against Russian aggression, bishops say

Ukrainian Catholic bishops said Ukrainians had a "right and sacred duty" to defend themselves against "Russian aggression," but should also avoid yielding to alarm and panic. The Dec. 1 message was signed by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, pictured in an early January photo.
KYIV, Ukraine – In a message marking the anniversary of their country's December 1991 referendum on independence from the Soviet Union, Ukrainian Catholic bishops said Ukrainians had a "right and sacred duty" to defend themselves against "Russian aggression," but should also avoid yielding to alarm and panic.
Published in International
November 27, 2018

Prohibit 'killer robots' now before they are used in wars, Vatican official says

Atlas (left) is a humanoid robot developed for "search and rescue" missions. BigDog was a 2005 quadrupedal robot created to serve as a pack mule to accompany soldiers on rough terrains.
VATICAN – Fully automated and autonomous lethal weapons systems must be banned now before they become a reality in tomorrow's wars, a Vatican representative said.
Published in International
November 20, 2018

Only South Sudan, Sudan citizens can build peace in their countries, bishops say

In this file photo, a former child soldier in Yambio, South Sudan, holds a gun during a child soldiers' release ceremony. Catholic bishops in South Sudan and Sudan appealed to the citizens of the two countries to work harder for peace, telling them, "True peace can only be built by citizens like you."
NAIROBI, Kenya – Catholic bishops in South Sudan and Sudan appealed to the citizens of the two countries -- including those in diaspora -- to work harder for peace, telling them, "True peace can only be built by citizens like you."
Published in International
November 8, 2018

Editorial: Will we ever learn?

Pack horses taking up ammunition to the guns of the 20th Battery Canadian Field Artillery, Neuville St. Vaast, April 1917. The 20th Battery Canadian Field Artillery taking up ammunition. In the Canadian forward area, roads and tramways were repaired and extended by pioneer and engineering units for the daily hauling of more than 720 tonnes or more of ammunition, rations and stores. Artillery ammunition allotted for the Vimy operation amounted to 38,250 tonnes.

A hundred years on, the numbers remain chilling — more than 15 million dead, including 61,000 Canadians.

Published in Editorial
November 8, 2018

Bells of Peace will ring to mark 100th anniversary of the end of WWI

St. Paul's Basilica is one of the Catholic churches participating in Bells of Peace at the Archdiocese of Toronto. St. Roch’s, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Helen, and St. Cecilia will also be ringing their bells to mark the anniversary.

Churches of all denominations across Canada are being asked to participate in the Royal Canadian Legion’s Bells of Peace at sunset on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11.

Published in Canada
October 19, 2018

Ukraine's war forming heroic young Christian leaders, Ukrainian archbishop says

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, Ukraine, who is head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, concelebrates Mass Aug. 8 during the 136th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Baltimore.
VATICAN – The horror of the ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine is shaping the moral compass of a generation of young Ukrainians and preparing them to be heroic Christian leaders, said the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Published in International
October 9, 2018

Aid groups, bishop sound alarm over humanitarian crisis affecting 21 million in Yemen

A woman holds a malnourished child Oct. 6 at a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Aid agencies and Catholic officials are sounding the alarm on Yemen's spiraling humanitarian crisis, calling on the combatants to end the war and make badly need assistance available.
AMMAN, Jordan – Aid agencies and Catholic officials are sounding the alarm on Yemen's spiraling humanitarian crisis, calling on the combatants to end the war and make badly need assistance available.
Published in International
September 18, 2018

Idlib civilians fear offensive by Syrian forces, Christian aid group says

Displaced children are seen Sept. 11 at a camp in Idlib, Syria.
AMMAN, Jordan – Christians and other civilians inside Idlib, Syria, are fearful of an impending, all-out offensive by their government and its Russian and Iranian backers on the northwestern province, the last rebel stronghold and presumed endgame in Syria's more than seven-year-old war.
Published in International
June 26, 2018

Pope calls torture mortal sin, calling on Christians to help tortured victims

Lines of barbed-wire fencing enclose the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, in this Sept. 4, 2015, file photo.
VATICAN – Calling torture a "mortal sin," Pope Francis called on Christians to help victims of this crime against human rights.
Published in International
June 16, 2018

Nigerian bishop promotes dialogue Muslims and Christians after years of violence

Archbishop Kaigama, right, and Vancouver vicar general Fr. Gary Franken.

VANCOUVER – In the 23 years since Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama became a bishop, he has not taken one day off from promoting dialogue and peace between Christians and Muslims.

Published in Canada
April 20, 2018

South Korean bishop hopes North-South summit brings results

The Peace House, the venue for the summit between the Koreas, is pictured April 18 at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. Leaders of both Koreas will meet April 27 for a historic summit just inside South Korean territory.
SEOUL, South Korea – Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon of Uijeongbu has been waiting years for this moment, with the leaders of the two divided Koreas poised to meet for a historic summit just inside South Korean territory April 27.
Published in International
April 15, 2018

Pope, Christian leaders condemn use of violence against Syria

Syrian firefighter stands inside the destroyed Scientific Research Center April 14 in Damascus. The United States, France and Britain launched airstrikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again.

VATICAN – Sharply criticizing a failure to find nonviolent means of bringing peace to Syria and other parts of the world, Pope Francis appealed to world leaders to work for justice and peace.

Published in International
October 16, 2017

Hunger is not incurable, we must end war and climate change, pope says

Pope Francis presents the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization with a marble statue during his visit to FAO headquarters Oct. 16. It is a statue of Alan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian boy who drowned during a Mediterranean crossing in September 2015.
VATICAN CITY – It makes no sense to lament the problems of hunger and forced migration if one is unwilling to address their root causes, which are conflict and climate change, Pope Francis said.
Published in International
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