International News

News from outside of Canada.

Fix overcrowded prisons unfit for human life, Pope says in wake of Brazil prison riot

January 3, 2017

VATICAN CITY – In the wake of a deadly riot in a Brazilian jail, Pope Francis called for all prisons to offer dignified living conditions and be places for true rehabilitation.

Fulani Herdsmen Terrorists are the latest Islamist threat to Christians in Nigeria

January 3, 2017

KAFANCHAN, Nigeria – Islamist violence and terrorism has killed more than 12,000 Christians in Nigeria, destroying some 2,000 churches. Boko Haram has perpetrated the bulk of the killings, but in the past year a new source of Islamist terror has hit the country in the form of the Fulani Herdsmen Terrorists (FHT).

Catholic leaders in Congo welcome church-mediated accord

January 3, 2017

OXFORD, England – Catholic leaders in Congo said they hope for lasting peace, after the bishops' conference helped mediate a government-opposition accord.

Church in India's Kerala state forms support group for transgender people

January 3, 2017

COCHIN, India – The church in India's Kerala state has formed a group of priests, nuns and laypeople to respond to the pastoral needs of transgender people, reported ucanews.com.

Kidnapped priest in Yemen appeals for Pope Francis’ help

January 2, 2017

ADEN, Yemen – A Salesian priest kidnapped in Yemen on March 4 personally appealed for Pope Francis’ help in a video posted to YouTube Dec. 26.

Berlin archbishop urges families to be inspired by 'Amoris Laetitia'

December 30, 2016

BERLIN – As traditional family holiday celebrations continued with the coming of the New Year, an official with the German bishops' conference encouraged Catholic families to read Pope Francis' exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love").

New York cardinal to participate in Trump inauguration

December 29, 2016

WASHINGTON – New York's Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan will take part in the upcoming presidential inauguration of Republican Donald Trump.

Vatican says 3.9 million pilgrims visited during Jubilee year

December 29, 2016

VATICAN CITY – More than 3.9 million pilgrims visited and attended papal events, liturgies or prayer services during the Holy Year of Mercy in 2016, the Vatican said.

Christ's birth invites new thinking in troubled world, Latin patriarch says on Christmas Eve

December 29, 2016

JERUSALEM – Christmas is the door that God keeps open as an invitation for people to enter into communion with him, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said in his Christmas Eve homily.

Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko named archpriest of Rome basilica

December 28, 2016

VATICAN CITY – Cardinal Santos Abril Castello, the Vatican's former vice chamberlain, has retired as archpriest of the Rome Basilica of St. Mary Major, the Vatican announced.