News/International

Police officers conduct a manhunt after a mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., Dec. 2. At least 14 people were reported killed and more than a dozen injured when gunmen opened fire during a function at a center for people with developmental disabilities, police said.

Why thoughts and prayers don’t belong on Twitter

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The mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA, has killed at least 14 people and wounded 17. It’s one of the deadlier mass shootings of this year, which is an absurd sentence to even have to type, and in the wake of it many people have been doing what comes naturally: taking to Twitter. In some strange ways, it feels like the big room we all want to be in, to mourn and get information and express the opinions we can’t share with our co-workers or family members or the bus driver.

A framed photo of the four churchwomen who were murdered in El Salvador in 1980 is displayed Dec. 2 in the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Wyandanch, N.Y. Dec. 2 marked the 35th anniversary of the killing of lay missioner Jean Donovan, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clark and Ita Ford by the Salvadoran National Guard during the nation's civil war.

In El Salvador, families say U.S. churchwomen's work lives on

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SANTIAGO NONUALCO, El Salvador - North Americans and Salvadorans gathered Dec. 2 at the precise spot where four churchwomen were killed 35 years ago to emphasize that their work for the country's poor remains alive.

Police officers conduct a manhunt after a mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., Dec. 2. At least 14 people were reported killed and more than a dozen injured when gunmen opened fire during a function at a center for people with developmental disabilities, police said.

Mass murder and the problem with prayer

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By now, everyone with an internet connection knows about the San Bernardino, California shooting that claimed the lives of at least 14 people.

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Dec. 2

Potential terrorists threatened Pope, say police in Italy, Kosovo

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BRESCIA, Italy - Italian State Police in Brescia, working with their counterparts in Kosovo, announced Dec. 1 that they had taken action against four Kosovars they believed to be terrorist risks and who, police said, made threats on social media against Pope Francis.

A pro-life supporter demonstrates in 2012 outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland have described as "profoundly disquieting" a ruling by the High Court that the region's ban on abortion in all but very limited circumstances breaches human rights legislation.

Northern Ireland's bishops call court ruling on abortion 'disquieting'

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DUBLIN - The Catholic bishops of Northern Ireland have described as "profoundly disquieting" a ruling by the High Court that the region's ban on abortion in all but very limited circumstances breaches human rights legislation.

Home-based care worker Olipa Mkandawire prays for a man living with AIDS in Matuli, Malawi, in this 2009 photo. Marking World AIDS Day Dec. 1, African bishops commended families and parishioners caring for people with HIV as the Year of Mercy approaches.

African bishops praise caregivers of people with HIV, AIDS

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ACCRA, Ghana - As the Year of Mercy neared, the bishops of Africa and Madagascar held up the work of families and local faith communities in caring for people with AIDS as a strong example of unconditional love.

A boy collects recyclable materials at a dumpsite in Medan, Indonesia, Nov. 30. The U.N. climate change conference, known as the COP21 summit, runs from Nov. 30-Dec. 11 near Paris.

Climate deal must be transformative, papal envoy tells leaders in Paris

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VATICAN CITY - Heads of state discussing carbon emission limits must create a global and "transformative" agreement built on justice, solidarity and fairness, a papal representative told the U.N. climate conference in Paris.

A wounded Palestinian protester is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank, Oct. 16. The Palestinian Authority has asked municipalities to tone down their public Christmas celebrations this year amid escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinian Authority limits Christmas celebrations in West Bank

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank - The Palestinian Authority has asked municipalities to tone down their public Christmas celebrations this year amid escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

A woman is evacuated from a building where a shooter was suspected to be still holed up at a Planned Parenthood clinic Nov. 27 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Police say Robert Lewis Dear killed three people during the shooting rampage and hours-long standoff at the clinic and was later taken into custody.

Planned Parenthood shooting antithesis of pro-life movement, says priest

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A priest who celebrates Mass every Friday morning on a sidewalk near the Planned Parenthood clinic targeted by a lone gunman Nov. 27 said the shooter's actions were the antithesis of the pro-life cause.

Pairs of shoes are symbolically placed on the Place de la Republique in Paris Nov. 29, ahead of the U.N. climate change conference, known as the COP21 summit, in Paris.

On eve of U.N. climate summit, Catholics join in calls for change

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PARIS - Hundreds of thousands of people in at least 150 countries around the world demanded action on climate change on the eve of a U.N. conference that aimed to find agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.

West end of Glastonbury Abbey

Archaeologists: Monks made up legends about King Arthur’s burial site

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CANTERBURY, England - Twelfth-century Roman Catholic monks with their eyes fixed on the equivalent of medieval cash registers were responsible for spreading the story that King Arthur and his golden-haired wife, Guinevere, were buried at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, one of England’s best known and most loved pilgrimage sites.

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