International News

News from outside of Canada.

Church institutions in Pakistan threatened with bomb attack

June 12, 2009

LAHORE, Pakistan - A Catholic Church centre in Pakistan's cosmopolitan eastern city of Lahore has been threatened with a suicide bomb attack, one of a series of intimidating messages given to Christians as the country's security crisis worsens. The threat was delivered June 10 to a Christian woman who lives next to Rabita Manzil, National Catholic Centre for Social Communications, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. The centre includes the offices of the Workshop Audio Visual Education studio, Radio Veritas Asia's Urdu service and the UCA News.

Lebanese election results a boost for diplomatic relations

June 11, 2009

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon’s Western-backed ruling majority remains in power as a result of the country’s hotly contested June 7 parliamentary elections, a setback for the Christian opposition backed by Hezbollah. Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, a Maronite Catholic who forged alliances through his Free Patriotic Movement with Hezbollah in 2006, had hoped to claim the majority in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran and Syria, is considered a terrorist group by many Western countries including Canada.

Mexican controversy should help 're-clarify' Development and Peace role

June 10, 2009

Having Canada’s bishops investigate accusations that the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace funded abortion-promoting organizations in Mexico has been a good thing for the 42-year-old agency, said executive director Michael Casey. “It’s not a bad thing to have this moment of reflection and re-affirmation, and to see where we’re going,” Casey told The Catholic Register. “It’s unfortunate it had to come out of such negative impulses.”

Pope petitions God for Air France dead

June 4, 2009

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Pope Benedict XVI sent his condolences and apostolic blessing to the families of all those affected when Air France Flight 447 disappeared above the Atlantic Ocean. The June 2 telegram, signed by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said Pope Benedict begged God to welcome those killed “into his peace and light.”

GM bankruptcy reason to pray

June 4, 2009

DETROIT - As Michigan braces to add to the nation’s highest unemployment rate, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron has asked all Catholics to join him in praying for those affected by the bankruptcy of General Motors Corp. “The news concerning General Motors adds to the disruption and uncertainty already faced by many of our fellow citizens,” Archbishop Vigneron said in a June 1 statement. “All of those impacted by these latest developments are in my prayers.”

Pro-life leaders, groups condemn murder of Kansas abortion doctor

June 2, 2009

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pro-life advocates universally condemned the May 31 murder of a Kansas abortion doctor, with officials from several U.S. right-to-life groups saying such extreme acts only hurt the pro-life cause. "We condemn this lawless act of violence," said Charmaine Yoest, president of the Americans United for Life . "The foundational right to life that our work is dedicated to extends to everyone. Whoever is responsible for this reprehensible violence must be brought to justice under the law."

Up to 35,000 Tamil civilian casualties, says Catholic aid worker

May 27, 2009

A Catholic aid worker who left Sri Lanka days before the end of his country's 26-year civil war has told The Catholic Register that between 25,000 and 35,000 Tamil civilians were killed or injured in the final days of the war. The aid worker said Sri Lanka's military used multi-barreled rocket launchers, cluster bombs and chemical weapons in heavily populated areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the rebel army that once held sway in most of Sri Lanka's north and east.

Bishop praises California court for affirming voters’ right to define marriage

May 27, 2009

WASHINGTON - Speaking on behalf of his fellow Catholic bishops in California, Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton praised the California Supreme Court for upholding the voters’ affirmation of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, but expressed disappointment that the court permitted an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples to remain legally married. The May 26 ruling of the high court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s Proposition 8 declaring that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” but said the voters’ decision could not be applied retroactively to those who married before the initiative was passed. Blaire said he and his fellow bishops “are strongly committed to protecting the dignity and worth of every human person” and supported “the intent of law to provide equal protection for all.”

Sr. Sophie's Bethlehem orphanage makes sure there is room at the inn

May 22, 2009

Prior to the recent pilgrimage to the Middle East by Pope Benedict XVI, Catholic Register editor Jim O’Leary travelled to the Holy Land and encountered many people who were hopeful that the Pope’s visit would be a prelude to peace. One such person was a remarkable nun whose Bethlehem orphanage has been caught in the middle of the ongoing conflict. Sr. Sophie Boueri is small, frail and, more than simply tired from a difficult day, her face mirrors lifetime fatigue. She is 74. [data:image/png;base64,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]

Sri Lanka war over when divisions overcome

May 21, 2009

BANGALORE, India - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared an end to the nation’s civil war in mid-May, but the head of the Sri Lankan Catholic bishops’ conference said the war will be over only when the island nation is able to overcome its ethnic divisions. “The war is technically over. But we can celebrate the real end of war only when we are able to overcome our prejudices and live together as one people,” Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview from his home May 19.