International News

News from outside of Canada.

With Gadhafi's death, Vatican hopes for end to Libyan bloodshed

October 21, 2011

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said the death of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi marked the end of a "harsh and oppressive regime" that was based on power instead of human dignity. It expressed hope that the bloodshed would end in the North African country, and that the new Libyan government would open a rebuilding phase based on "a spirit of inclusion" and social justice. The statement was issued by the Vatican press office late Oct. 20, several hours after Gadhafi was reported killed in his coastal hometown of Sirte, where he had been barricaded with loyalist troops. His death came after months of bloody civil strife and NATO airstrikes in support of Libyan rebels.

Jewish leaders denounce traditionalist's remarks on 'deicide'

October 20, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Jewish groups have called on the Vatican to suspend reconciliation talks with a traditionalist group after one of its bishops argued that the Jewish people were responsible for the death of Jesus. "Comments like these take us back decades to the dark days before there was a meaningful and mutually respectful dialogue between Jews and Roman Catholics," Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said in a statement Oct. 19. "We call upon the Catholic Church to suspend negotiations with extremist Catholic tendencies until it is clear that these groups show a clear commitment to tackling anti-Semitism within their ranks."

Vatican to issue document on global financial reform

October 20, 2011

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has prepared a document on reform of the global financial system and the potential role of a public regulatory authority. The document, prepared by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will be released Oct. 24 in four languages, and presented the same day at a Vatican news conference by Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the council. The Vatican said the document would address "reform of the international financial system with a view toward a general public authority."

Freedom from hunger is essential part of right to life

October 17, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI appealed for immediate and long-term relief for the world's hungry, saying the right to adequate nourishment is a fundamental part of the right to life. The hunger crisis that affects millions of people today is a sign of the deep gulf between the haves and the have-nots of the world and calls for changes in lifestyle and in global economic mechanisms, the pope said in a message marking World Food Day Oct. 16. The text was addressed to Jacques Diouf, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Citing the famine and refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa, the pope said the "painful images" of starving people underline the need for both emergency aid and long-term intervention to support agricultural production and distribution.

Pope calls on Italian officials to govern with dignity, responsibility

October 14, 2011

VATICAN CITY - In the midst of major economic problems and continuing moral scandals, Italy's prime minister was facing a confidence vote in parliament as Pope Benedict XVI called on Italian public officials to exercise their offices with dignity and responsibility. The pope met Oct. 14 with Roberto Maroni, Italy's interior minister, and about 200 prefects, who represent the interior ministry in Italy's provinces and have special competence in matters dealing with public order.

U.S. bishops find Iraqi Christians want return to peace, meaningful jobs

October 13, 2011

WASHINGTON - Iraqis want a return to peace, security and stability and the chance to secure meaningful employment, said two U.S. bishops who traveled to Baghdad in a demonstration of the American Catholic Church's solidarity with the country's violence-weary Christians. Visiting Oct. 2-5 at the invitation of the bishops of Iraq, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., and Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, found Iraqi Christians confronting immense daily challenges while facing the threat of violence because of their faith. Iraqis, the bishops said, repeatedly stressed the need for security and urged the prelates to share their story with the American church and government officials.

Pope condemns attack on Christians in Egypt

October 12, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Condemning an attack on unarmed Christians in Egypt, Pope Benedict XVI said that during the country's transition to democracy, all of its citizens and institutions must work to guarantee the rights of minorities. At the end of his weekly general audience Oct. 12, Pope Benedict said he was "profoundly saddened" by the deaths Oct. 9 of at least 26 people, mostly Christians, after peaceful protesters were attacked by gangs, and then a speeding military vehicle ran into them and officers fired on the crowd. Hundreds of people were injured. The pope said Egypt, which has been transitioning to democracy since the February ousting of President Hosni Mubarak, has been "lacerated by attempts to undermine peaceful coexistence among its communities."

Church leaders fear civil war in Syria

October 12, 2011

BEIRUT - Pressure being put on the Syrian government could have very bad consequences, especially for Christians, warned the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church. Attempts to collapse the government “will very probably lead to chaos,” Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan told Catholic News Service. “This chaos, surely — with no means to implement security — will lead to civil war,” said the patriarch, who stressed that a civil war in Syria would not merely be a struggle among political parties to control the power. “It will be confessional (religious), and war in the name of God is far worse than a political struggle. And this is what we fear.”

Egypt's Christians respond to attack with prayer, fasting

October 11, 2011

Prayer and fasting is the only possible response to a military attack on civilian, Christian protesters, a Canadian Coptic priest in Egypt told The Catholic Register. Fr. Bishoi Yassa Anis was just blocks away from a battle between Christian protesters and Egyptian soldiers on the streets of Cairo Oct. 9. Egyptian officials put the death toll at 26 with more than 300 injured. While protests began with the destruction of a church in Aswan, the Cairo protests were trying to draw attention to a long series of attacks on churches since the government of Hosni Mubarak fell in March of this year, said Bishoi (Egyptian family names come first).

Pope Shenouda declares days of mourning after protest turns violent

October 10, 2011

CAIRO - Orthodox Pope Shenouda III declared three days of mourning, fasting and prayer for victims of peaceful protests that turned violent, and church and government leaders called for Egypt to reaffirm its commitment to religious freedom. At least 26 people -- mostly Christian -- were killed and nearly 500 were injured Oct. 9 as gangs armed with firebombs, sticks, swords and rocks attacked about 1,000 people staging a peaceful sit-in outside of a state television building. As the violence escalated, a speeding military vehicle mounted a sidewalk and rammed into a group of protesters, killing a number of them.