International News

News from outside of Canada.

Peruvian church leaders concerned after 2 detained during mine protests

June 1, 2012

SICUANI, Peru - Church leaders in Peru called for dialogue and expressed concern about the detention of two human rights workers in the southern Andes Mountains during violent protests over a copper mine. Two people have been killed and dozens, including police officers, have been injured in demonstrations against the Tintaya Mine, owned by Xstrata, a Swiss company. On May 28, the government imposed a 30-day state of emergency after the protest, which began the week before, turned violent May 27.

German cardinal calls for 'social market economy' in wake of crisis

June 1, 2012

WASHINGTON - German Cardinal Reinhard Marx called for a "social market economy" in the wake of the fiscal crisis that has gripped much of Europe over the past year. In a May 30 talk delivered at Georgetown University in Washington, Cardinal Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, said the economy needed to move "beyond capitalism" in order to be more fair. He added that he was not calling for the abolition of capitalism, saying that capitalism was "an element" in the social market economy he has in mind. But Cardinal Marx suggested that it was the practice of "financial capitalism" in the era since the tearing down of the Iron Curtain that had brought Europe to its crisis point today.

The human factor: Vatileaks scandal highlights devotion, excess at Vatican

May 31, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Depending on what commentary one reads, recent leaks of internal Vatican memos and private letters to Pope Benedict XVI are the work either of praiseworthy whistle-blowers or criminal moles. Gianluigi Nuzzi, the Italian journalist who published a book based on dozens of private Vatican documents, said his main source was part of a group of Vatican employees who wanted to "help" Pope Benedict XVI clean up the church by revealing evidence of corruption, infighting and power struggles. But Archbishop Angelo Becciu, a top official in the Vatican Secretariat of State, said leaking the material was "behavior unjustifiable from every point of view."

Unique Vatican court system tackles petty to serious crimes

May 30, 2012

VATICAN CITY - From picked pockets to a 1998 double murder and suicide, the Vatican legal system has dealt with a vast array of crimes and misdemeanors over the decades. Now it has begun a formal inquiry into the case of the pope's personal assistant who has been implicated in the media-blitzed "VatiLeaks" scandal. Paolo Gabriele, the pope's valet since 2006, was arrested May 23 by Vatican security for having unauthorized documents in his possession.

Papal butler's lawyers ask Vatican for house arrest for their client

May 30, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The lawyers for Paolo Gabriele have petitioned Vatican magistrates for house arrest for their client, who is accused of illegally possessing stolen documents as part of the so-called "VatiLeaks" scandal. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said May 30 that the magistrates who have been holding Gabriele in the offices of the Vatican police were considering the formal request to allow him to return to his Vatican apartment with his wife and three children.

Rio+20: Canadian still trying to map a sustainable future for the world

May 29, 2012

LIMA, Peru - Twenty years ago, a 12-year-old girl stood before government officials from most of the world's countries and pleaded for her future. Worried about pollution and overuse of natural resources on her finite planet, she begged, "If you don't know how to fix it, please don't break it." The occasion was the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which ended with the world's countries committing -- at least on paper -- to make environmental concerns a priority and eliminate unsustainable forms of production and consumption. Above all, delegates agreed that development must not jeopardize the welfare of future generations."

Vatican pledges to restore trust, transparency in search for truth

May 29, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said it is committed to restoring a sense of trust and transparency as it seeks the truth behind leaks of letters written by Vatican officials to each other and Pope Benedict XVI. Paolo Gabriele -- the pope's private assistant accused of having a cache of illicitly obtained Vatican documents -- was still under arrest and would face his first round of formal preliminary questioning by Vatican judges "later this week or early next week," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said May 29.

Pope condemns massacre in Syria, urges prayers, dialogue for peace

May 29, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in condemning a massacre in Syria, and he called for Christian and Muslim leaders in the country to guide their faithful in prayer and collaboration to restore peace and calm. The massacre in Houla May 25-26 left about 108 people dead, including 49 children and 34 women. The U.N. Security Council May 27 condemned the massacre of civilians and, while not pinning all the blame on the Syrian government, it accused the government of inappropriately using heavy weapons in a residential area.

Commission lists Egypt among countries with religious freedom problems

May 28, 2012

WASHINGTON - As Egyptians began voting to replace ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Christian minorities were anxious to see if the next government would end restrictions on religious freedom and attacks on religious minorities that had been on the rise the past couple of years. Egypt was one of 16 countries that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom singled out for particular concern in its 2012 annual report, released in March. Egypt made the list for the second year in a row. "Over the past year, the Egyptian transitional government continued to engage in and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief," the report said. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TROUBLE SPOTS The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report lists governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom, according to the latest report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. [images/stories/_larger2011/Religious-Freedom.jpg]

Catholic spokesman in Greece: Orthodox leader intolerant, fanatical

May 28, 2012

OXFORD, England - Greece's Catholic Church accused a leader of the Orthodox Church of "intolerance and fanaticism" after he sued a Catholic archbishop for illegal proselytism. "I hope the court rejects his petition, which has no legal or juridical basis," said Nikolaos Gasparakis, spokesman for the Greek bishops' conference. "It's a pity he doesn't say more about the plight of citizens during our grave economic crisis, rather than just attacking Catholics."