International News

News from outside of Canada.

Mexico Archdiocese to be divided into three dioceses

September 30, 2019

MEXICO CITY -- Three new dioceses have been carved out of the Archdiocese of Mexico, a move Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City said will bring pastors "closer to the all the inhabitants."

Persecution of Christians is being ignored, says Hungarian official

September 30, 2019

UNITED NATIONS -- Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide, but hypocrisy, political correctness and ignorance prevent the international community from implementing a comprehensive response to pervasive violence against them, said speakers at a U.N. event Sept. 27.

Law passed in Oaxaca, Mexico decriminalizing abortion

September 26, 2019

GUATEMALA CITY -- Lawmakers in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca have approved a measure to decriminalize abortion, despite vocal church opposition.

Australian states pass law requiring priests to report abuse disclosed in confession

September 26, 2019

SYDNEY -- The Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania have become the latest in the country to pass legislation criminalizing priests who fail to report the abuse of children disclosed during confession. The country's six states and two territories are all expected have such laws in place in coming months.

Violence against indigenous in Brazil on the rise

September 26, 2019

SAO PAULO -- Less than two weeks before the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon was scheduled to begin at the Vatican, the Brazilian bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council reported that the number of indigenous land invasions and indigenous murdered in Brazil in 2018 soared.

Argentine vets’ statue returned — with Pope’s blessing

September 25, 2019

MANCHESTER, England -- After a request from Argentine veterans of the Falklands War, a British bishop will return a replica of Our Lady of Lujan that was taken to Britain as a spoils of war almost four decades ago.

Trump urges an end to persecution of 'people of faith'

September 24, 2019

UNITED NATIONS -- President Donald Trump called on world leaders at a Sept. 23 U.N. event on religious freedom to end religious persecution around the globe.

Spanish bishops say Zen meditation is not Christian prayer

September 24, 2019

MADRID, Spain (CNA) -- The Spanish bishops’ conference said that the “mindfulness” movement and other eastern meditation techniques cannot be considered a “properly Christian” practice of prayer.

U.S. abortion rates at all-time low

September 24, 2019

WASHINGTON -- The pro-life community is cheering a report released Sept. 18 that indicates the number and rate of abortions nationwide have fallen to their lowest levels since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion on demand in 1973.

French bishops oppose assisted procreation for single moms, same-sex couples

September 23, 2019

PARIS -- France's Catholic bishops opposed legislation to allow medically assisted procreation for single mothers and lesbian couples and urged citizens to help block its enactment.