International News

News from outside of Canada.

Gaza Catholic parish mourns fellow Christians killed in blast at Greek Orthodox complex

October 23, 2023

For Mother María del Pilar Llerena Vargas, "it was an image that will be very difficult to erase." The Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Peru, who is serving in the Catholic parish in Gaza, recalled the pain of watching the funeral of Christians killed in an Oct. 19 blast at a Greek Orthodox church.

Biden and Pope Francis discuss conflict in Israel and Gaza in phone call

October 23, 2023

President Joe Biden and Pope Francis spoke by phone Oct. 22 to discuss the conflict in Israel and Gaza and facilitating a path to "durable peace" in the region, according to the press offices of both leaders.

Greek Orthodox church in Gaza damaged in blast

October 20, 2023

An explosion at the St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church campus in Gaza has left the administration building in ruins, and at least 17 people dead, though numbers have not yet been officially confirmed.

Palestine ambassador says Vatican should play role in mediating end of 'carnage'

October 20, 2023

The Vatican, especially Pope Francis, must double its efforts and urge the international community to end the massacre of Palestinians killed in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war, Palestine's ambassador to Denmark said.

Russian Catholics embrace Pope’s support of Ukraine: archbishop

October 20, 2023

Catholics in Russia support Pope Francis’ frequent prayers for “the martyred people of Ukraine,” the head of the Catholic Church in Russia said.

Scholars note mixed Vatican response to Holocaust

October 19, 2023

Scholars at a conference examining the wartime pontificate of Pope Pius XII presented a mixed bag on how the Vatican responded to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Nicaragua expels a dozen priests, sends them to the Vatican, Ortega regime says

October 19, 2023

Nicaragua has expelled a dozen priests held as political prisoners as the increasingly tyrannical regime continues sending clergy into exile and cracking down on the Catholic Church.

EOHSJ intensifies efforts amid Holy Land conflict

October 18, 2023

Amid the devastating violence in Israel and Gaza following Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Oct. 7, with thousands of casualties on both sides, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has vowed to intensify its already considerable efforts in the Holy Land.

Jerusalem Latin Patriarch’s words stand out

October 18, 2023

On the same day the Toronto Board of Rabbis pleaded with their co-religionists to show public solidarity, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, offered himself as one such sign.

Hundreds killed in Gaza hospital rocket strike

October 17, 2023

While Christian faithful across the globe prayed and fasted for peace in the Holy Land, a rocket struck the Christian hospital in Gaza City where hundreds of people were being treated, but also where hundreds were taking shelter. U.S. President Joe Biden is on his way to Israel to make a quick visit Oct. 18.