News/International

COTABATO, Philippines – Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato has condemned "in the strongest terms possible" the reported desecration of a Catholic chapel by terrorist gunmen in the southern Philippines.

DETROIT – A federal judge has ruled that 114 Iraqi immigrants facing deportation can stay in the U.S. for at least two more weeks as he sorts out whether the court has jurisdiction. Supporters say the immigrants would face persecution in Iraq since many of them are Christians.

In the days and months after Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, the badly battered seaside community of Anibong became a graveyard for colourful cargo ships that were tossed onto shore by 195-mph winds. The November 2013 typhoon killed or left missing more than 7,300 people, most of whom were from the eastern city of Tacloban, where Anibong is located. It also decimated more a million homes, affecting more than 16 million residents across the central Philippines.

VATICAN CITY – Better to take risk of carrying the freshness of the Gospel to others than to be a "museum Christian" afraid of change, Pope Francis told Serra International.

NAIROBI, Kenya – In Dadaab, the world's largest refugee complex in northeast Kenya, Somali refugees are caught in a very delicate and complex situation and Bishop Joseph Alessandro of Garissa, Kenya, is determined to help the world understand their plight.

Kasai, DRC – More than 3,300 people have been killed since October alone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kasai region, said a report on recent violence by Catholic officials this week.

QUEBEC CITY – St. John's experience with Jesus "transforms him into a great communicator," said Quebec Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, and he told Catholic media professionals from around the world that the same kind of experience drives their work.

NEW DELHI – Church leaders have expressed solidarity with ethnic Gorkha people who are on an indefinite strike protesting for a separate homeland in the Darjeeling area of eastern India.

ATLANTA, Ga. – Abortion rights groups invested heavily and lost in Tuesday night’s runoff special election for a Georgia House seat, and pro-lifers maintain the outcome proves the futility of the pro-abortion agenda.

OXFORD, England – The president of the Zambian Catholic bishops' conference joined other religious leaders in deploring worsening tensions in the east African country, accusing its president of intimidating opponents and silencing the media.