International News

News from outside of Canada.

Kenyan Catholic leaders praise citizen reaction during hostage crisis

September 23, 2013

NAIROBI, Kenya - As Kenyan security forces worked to end a standoff at an upscale mall in Nairobi, the nation's Catholic leaders praised their fellow citizens for "the Kenyan spirit."

Pope, in Sardinia, denounces globalization and unemployment

September 23, 2013

VATICAN CITY - Visiting an Italian region especially hard hit by the European economic crisis, Pope Francis blamed high unemployment on globalization driven by greed and said those who give charitable aid to the poor must treat their beneficiaries with dignity.

Syria’s tragedy, up close

September 20, 2013

KILIS, TURKEY - While diplomats shuffle between Geneva, Moscow and Washington, their plans to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control are having no impact on the war of attrition Syrians are fighting with rifles, rocket propelled grenades, tanks and bombing raids. As the violence that’s killed more than 100,000 Syrians wears on, Turkey is seeing more and more of the human toll in the form of refugees and wounded fighters.

Acapulco Archdiocese opens parishes as relief centers for flood victims

September 19, 2013

MEXICO CITY - The archdiocese of Acapulco has suspended church services and instructed priests to turn their parishes into support centres after torrential rains on one of the busiest weekends of the year left the city cut off from other parts of Mexico.

Diocese looks at possibly opening cause for Chesterton's sainthood

September 19, 2013

MANCHESTER, England - The bishop of Northampton, England, has appointed a priest to investigate the possibility of opening the cause for sainthood of G.K. Chesterton, a British journalist and author of the early 20th century.

Syrian Christians targeted by outsiders, Syriac Catholic leader says

September 19, 2013

JERUSALEM - Christians in Syria are continuing to be targeted by outside fundamentalist groups who have joined the country's long civil war, said the head of the Syriac Catholic Church in Jerusalem.

Poles welcome native son John Paul II's sainthood

September 17, 2013

WARSAW, Poland - A larger-than-life model of Blessed John Paul II as a younger man reaches out from the top of the exterior steps that ascend to All Saints Church, Warsaw's largest church.

'Terrible loss of life' at Navy Yard shocking and sad, says archbishop

September 17, 2013

WASHINGTON - As military, police and federal investigators searched for answers as to why a lone gunman opened fired Sept. 16 at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people and wounding at least eight more, religious leaders and public officials offered prayers for the victims and their families.

Central African Republic conflict risks breakup of country, priest says

September 16, 2013

OXFORD, England - A senior Catholic priest in the Central African Republic has warned of growing clashes between Christians and Muslims, and urged the international community to act "within weeks" to prevent the country's breakup.

Displaced Christians in Lebanon experience a life in waiting

September 15, 2013

BEIRUT - The misery experienced by Mariam and husband, Ephrem, and their three young children is just one example of hundreds of thousands of Christians in the Middle East, displaced by wars in which they are not participating.