International News

News from outside of Canada.

Haitian bishops call for quick, negotiated solution to pending political crisis

February 3, 2016

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's Catholic bishops urged political leaders to reach a negotiated solution to the country's looming political crisis as President Michel Martelly's term ends Feb. 7 and elections to find a successor have been indefinitely delayed.

Salvadoran priests: Government can't tell women when to get pregnant

February 1, 2016

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - The Salvadoran bishops have made no comment on a government recommendation to women to delay pregnancy because of the Zika virus, and priests contacted by Catholic News Service gave varied responses on their reaction.

Italy: 'Family Day' rally draws hundreds of thousands

February 1, 2016

ROME - Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Rome's Circus Maximus to protest against a proposed bill that would grant legal recognition to nonmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples and give them the right to adopt children.

Covering nude statues in Rome for Iran head draws Catholic leader’s scorn

January 28, 2016

ROME - Controversy over Italy’s decision to cover nude statues during the visit of Iran’s president continued to spark debate as the leader of the Syrian Catholic Church criticized the episode, saying it pains persecuted Christians in Syria who feel forgotten.

Germany, Austrian bishops say keep doors open to refugees

January 28, 2016

BERLIN - Catholic bishops in Germany and Austria have urged their countries to continue accepting refugees, despite demands for new restrictions after New Year's Eve violence in Cologne and other cities.

Pro-life law firm defends California centre in Planned Parenthood suit

January 28, 2016

LOS ANGELES - A Chicago-based law firm known for supporting pro-life causes will defend the Centre for Medical Progress in a federal racketeering lawsuit filed Jan. 14 by Planned Parenthood against the centre.

Bishop warns Lord’s Resistance Army re-emerging in Central African Republic

January 28, 2016

A senior Roman Catholic bishop in the Central African Republic is warning that the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel force that killed more than 100,000 people in northern Uganda in the 1980s and ’90s, is rising up again in his country.

Muslim leaders reiterate support for minority rights in Islamic nations

January 27, 2016

MARRAKESH, Morocco - Muslim leaders from around the world adopted a declaration defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries.

Priest laments destruction of Iraq's oldest Christian monastery

January 27, 2016

AMMAN, Jordan - Catholic clergy lamented the destruction of Iraq's oldest Christian monastery, St. Elijah, and urged the international community to do more to stop such assaults.

English cardinal warns teachers against Islamic State recruitment

January 27, 2016

MANCHESTER, England - It can take just one month to turn a disenfranchised teenage Catholic student into fanatical Islamic terrorist, an English cardinal planned to warn Catholic teachers.