International News

News from outside of Canada.

Pope Francis calls Gaza parish staff as bombing continues

October 17, 2023

Huddled in a stairwell at the Catholic parish and school in Gaza, Rosary Sister Nabila Saleh, another sister and Father Youssef Asaad filmed themselves speaking to Pope Francis on the phone and begging for his continued prayers.

Holy Land church leaders plead for Gaza humanitarian corridor

October 16, 2023

Patriarchs and heads of all the churches in Jerusalem have issued an urgent appeal to Israel and the international community to open a humanitarian corridor, to assist people caught in what many fear is an imminent humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.

Jerusalem cardinal offers himself in exchange for Israeli hostages

October 16, 2023

The Catholic Church's highest ranking prelate in the Holy Land offered his "absolute availability" to be exchanged for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas.

Israeli families missing loved ones wait for proof of life; patriarch appeals for prayer, fasting

October 12, 2023

Just before the children in her kindergarten class went on vacation for the Jewish Sukkot Festival, Romina Shvalb, 42, a kindergarten teacher in the quiet Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border, had baked challah -- the braided sweet bread Jews traditionally eat on the Sabbath and holidays -- with the children.

Notre Dame rebuild a ‘sign of hope for everyone,’ rector says

October 12, 2023

By the end of the year, Notre Dame Cathedral’s silhouette will be restored: Its entire 100-metre high spire will once again crown the transept crossing, hidden beneath scaffolding.

Fear of erasure fuels Artsakh exodus

October 11, 2023

In a chilling reminder of the Nazi blitzkrieg that ripped through Europe in the 1940s, Azerbaijan, with a lightning military offensive on Sept. 19, dealt a fatal blow to Artsakh (also called Nagorno Karabakh), a disputed territory within its boundaries, sending almost all of its 120,000 Christian Armenians into forced exile.

Pilgrims pray as Israeli families mourn loved ones

October 10, 2023

Pilgrims who were in Israel following a surprise terrorist attack by Hamas terrorists against civilian communities in southern Israel Oct. 7 lit candles and said prayers of peace at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as fighting continued in southern Israel.

Hamas attack a catastrophe of 'biblical dimensions,' says Israeli ambassador

October 10, 2023

The shock of the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel, in which hundreds were killed, wounded or kidnapped, has left a traumatic mark on Israeli citizens, said the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.

Jerusalem church leaders call for peace following deadly Hamas attack

October 10, 2023

Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem united in a call for peace and justice amid unfolding violence, following a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which has left over 700 Israelis dead, among them civilians and dozens of soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas fighters. Over 2,000 people were injured. Israeli media said that more than 250 bodies had been recovered from the site of the music festival that was attacked by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 in southern Israel.

Fleeing ethnic Armenian Christians 'completely disregarded' for political, economic profits, says bishop

October 6, 2023

An Armenian Catholic bishop told OSV News that tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians have been "completely disregarded for political and economic profits," as Azerbaijan takes control over their former home.