International News

News from outside of Canada.

Education, trauma counseling key to helping Syrian refugees in Lebanon

April 20, 2016

ZAHLE, Lebanon – On a rainy spring day, the misery of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees is compounded as they shelter in dilapidated shanties dotting a long muddy swathe of the verdant Bekaa Valley.

Ex-Vatican PR consultant loves Trump even if Pope Francis doesn’t

April 20, 2016

ROME – It’s hard to see how Francesca Chaouqui could find herself any more at odds with Pope Francis than she already is, given that the Italian PR consultant is on trial in the Vatican for leaking sensitive documents that made the pontiff’s reform efforts look bad.

Pope reminds world of suffering in war-torn Ukraine

April 19, 2016

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' pleas for humanitarian aid for Ukraine is bringing needed attention to a forgotten war, said Ukrainian Catholic leaders.

Young nun, postulants among hundreds of Ecuador earthquake victims

April 19, 2016

WASHINGTON – Six members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, including a young nun from Northern Ireland, are among the dead in the strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador since 1979.

From nightmare to dream: Syrian refugees thank Pope for safety

April 18, 2016

ROME – After less than 48 hours in Rome, "dream" is the word used most often by the six Syrian adults Pope Francis brought back to Italy with him from a refugee camp in Greece.

Kenyan nun killed in Yemen remembered during memorial Mass

April 18, 2016

NAIROBI, Kenya – A Kenyan member of the Missionaries of Charity killed in an attack on a nursing home in Yemen was remembered during a memorial Mass as defending her Catholic faith at the time of her death.

'It makes you weep,' Pope says of refugees' stories

April 18, 2016

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM GREECE – When an aide suggested Pope Francis offer to fly some Syrian refugees back to Rome with him, the pope said he agreed immediately because it was "an inspiration of the Holy Spirit."

Stigma, lack of health care, fake drugs impeding HIV fight, speakers say

April 16, 2016

VATICAN CITY – The fight against HIV/AIDS is being hampered by continued stigma against those who are infected, a lack of access to appropriate medical care and fake antiretroviral drugs pedaled on the black market, said activists taking part in a Caritas Internationalis conference that wrapped up this week.

Pope prays for refugees, brings 12 Syrians back to Rome

April 16, 2016

MYTILENE, Greece – Pope Francis' five-hour visit to Greece ended with him offering safe passage to Italy to 12 Syrian Muslims, half under the age of 18.

Pope, Orthodox leaders listen to cries of refugees, urge help

April 16, 2016

MYTILENE, Greece – Although their speeches were punctuated with policy appeals, Pope Francis and Orthodox leaders focused their visit to the island of Lesbos on the faces, stories and drawings of refugees.