International News

News from outside of Canada.

Nicaraguan regime publishes photos of Bishop Álvarez as US demands release of imprisoned bishop, other clergy

David Agren · January 4, 2024

The U.S. Department of State has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season.

Pope Francis sees threat of church in Germany moving away from Rome

Carol Glatz · November 21, 2023

Pope Francis expressed his concern about concrete initiatives individual dioceses and the Catholic Church in Germany as a whole are taking, including the establishment of a synodal council, which, he said, threaten to steer it away from the universal church.

Spanish cardinal urges calm as protests mount over separatist amnesty

Jonathan Luxmoore · November 21, 2023

The president of the Spanish bishops' conference has appealed for calm following mass protests against the planned release of jailed Catalan separatists under a deal with the new socialist-led government.

Javier Milei wins presidential elections in Argentina

David Agren · November 20, 2023

Upstart presidential candidate Javier Milei, who attacked Pope Francis as "filthy leftist," overwhelmingly won Argentina's presidential election on a radical libertarian platform of dollarizing the economy and shrinking the state in a country beset by recurring economic crises and triple-digit inflation.

Pope Francis returns Mater Ecclesiae Monastery to use by contemplative nuns

Cindy Wooden · November 13, 2023

Pope Francis has invited a community of Benedictine nuns from Argentina to move into the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, renewing the building's purpose as home to a cloistered community of women dedicated to supporting the pope's ministry with their prayer.

Indi Gregory, British girl whose life support was halted by court, dies

OSV News · November 13, 2023

Indi Gregory, a British girl whose parents battled the British courts to have her life support extended, died at 1:45 a.m. U.K. time Nov. 13.

Bishop Strickland removed from diocese after accusing pope of backing 'attack on the sacred'

Maria Wiering, Peter Jesserer Smith · November 13, 2023

Pope Francis has "relieved" Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, the Holy See Press Office announced Nov. 11. Simultaneously, Francis has appointed Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator to oversee the diocese until a new bishop is appointed.

Italy's prime minister takes case of baby on life support to highest levels of diplomacy

OSV News · November 10, 2023

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urgently written to Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk of the United Kingdom calling for the two countries to officially collaborate on facilitating 8-month-old Indi Gregory's transfer to Rome under the Hague Convention.

Younger U.S. priests increasingly identify as theologically conservative, politically moderate, 'first responders' to abuse

Gina Christian · November 9, 2023

A closer look at the largest survey of U.S. Catholic priests in 50 years has revealed "a major shift in how priests view themselves and their priesthood," said researchers.

Cardinal denies work on changing conclave

Cindy Wooden · November 8, 2023

Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a top advisor to Pope Francis on matters involving canon law, denied reports the Pope had asked him to draft revisions to the rules governing the preparations for electing a new pope.