International News

News from outside of Canada.

Mexico Supreme Court ruling makes same-sex marriages legal nationwide

June 22, 2015

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Supreme Court has declared state-level laws, defining marriage only as the union of a man and a woman, discriminatory and unconstitutional. The decision, in effect, legalizes same-sex marriages in all 31 of the country's states.

Archbishop wants G-7, Vatican to do more to ensure Ukraine's security

June 22, 2015

WARSAW, Poland - The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church expressed concern that the world's richest countries are failing to honour a 1994 agreement that promised Ukraine security for giving up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons.

People express heartache, outrage as they mourn shooting victims

June 22, 2015

WASHINGTON - The tragic taking of nine lives at a historically black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, brought an outpouring of solidarity, compassion and sorrow from around the country.

Pope Francis chides world powers for failing to push for peace in Syria

June 19, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on June 19 criticized world powers for their failure to find a solution to the Syrian conflict, saying the country’s Christians had been united by “the blood of the martyrs” lost in war.

Church leaders see encyclical as opening new wave of climate action

June 19, 2015

MEXICO CITY - Pope Francis aims to touch the hearts of people so that they act to stem climate change and change their lifestyle to reduce negative impacts on the planet in his encyclical on the environment, said a priest at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Religious leaders decry arson at Jerusalem church

June 19, 2015

JERUSALEM - The Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land issued a strong condemnation against an early morning arson attack on the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee on June 18.

Emanuel AME Church: the latest victim of violence against black churches

June 19, 2015

For many, the massacre at a black church in Charleston, S.C., is simply another mass shooting. But for African-Americans, church violence has historic dimensions.

Papal fan club takes to the media after encyclical

June 18, 2015

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, author of a rabbinical letter on climate change, said he can sum up his response to Pope Francis’ groundbreaking encyclical on the environment in one word: Hallelujah.

From border to academia, enthusiasm for papal encyclical runs high

June 18, 2015

WASHINGTON - Long before Pope Francis' encyclical on care for creation was released, it was providing a boost for a group of women struggling to keep the negative influences of modern-day life from erasing valued Mexican traditions and treasured cultural practices along the Mexico-Texas border.

Americans’ confidence in religion hits a new low 

June 17, 2015

Americans have less confidence in organized religion today than ever measured before — a sign that the Church could be “losing its footing as a pillar of moral leadership in the nation’s culture,” a new Gallup survey finds.