International News

News from outside of Canada.

Historians welcome archives on Pius XII but caution against finding a ‘smoking gun’

March 15, 2019

Historian Robert Ventresca is already planning visits to Rome sometime after March 2, 2020, where he will immerse himself in hundreds of thousands of letters, cables and speeches covering the papacy of Pius XII from 1939 to 1958.

After mosque attacks, New Zealand bishops tell Muslims: 'We hold you in prayer'

March 15, 2019

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – New Zealand's Catholic bishops have expressed horror and distress at a terrorist attack in two mosques in Christchurch that saw at least 49 people killed.

Polish church releases first report on clerical sex abuse

March 15, 2019

WARSAW, Poland – A top Polish Catholic leader, named the first bishops' conference delegate for child protection, welcomed a church report on sexual abuse by clergy in his country and vowed efforts to combat it.

Church must follow, accept local laws on abuse, Fr. Hans Zollner says

March 15, 2019

VATICAN – The Catholic Church must respect the law and accept court decisions regarding clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up, said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a leading expert in child protection.

The world of Sr. Laura: Serving Ethiopians for more than 25 years

March 14, 2019

OTTAWA – When Sr. Laura Girotto first set foot in Adwa, Ethiopia, in late 1993, it was hard to envision the miracle about to unfold.

Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels dies at 85

March 14, 2019

VATICAN – Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, died March 14 at the age of 85.

Argentine bishops will ask Pope Francis to visit homeland

March 14, 2019

VATICAN – In a letter commemorating the sixth anniversary of Pope Francis' election, the bishops of Argentina said they will ask the Pope to visit his homeland.

Cardinal Parolin urges Poland to uphold Christian heritage in Europe

March 14, 2019

WARSAW, Poland – The Vatican secretary of state praised the Polish church's traditional closeness to Rome as key to its survival under hostile regimes, in a speech marking the centenary of the nation's conference of bishops and diplomatic ties with the Vatican.

Indian bishop, guard hospitalized after 'planned attack' by parishioners

March 13, 2019

NEW DELHI – A Catholic bishop was hospitalized after a group of parishioners attacked him, a security guard and a priest in a five-decade-old land dispute in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Man who accused Pell questions six-year jail sentence, fears appeal

March 13, 2019

SYDNEY – A man Cardinal George Pell was convicted of sexually assaulting said he is finding it hard to "take comfort" in the cardinal's six-year jail sentence because a request to appeal the conviction is due to be heard June 5.