News/International

OXFORD, England – A commission of Catholic bishops has called on the European Union to more actively promote peace and reconciliation to ease tensions and conflicts on country borders.

Pan-Orthodox Council turns into cliffhanger over boycott threats

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After a gap of over 1,200 years, including 55 years of preparation, the planned Holy and Great Council of the Eastern Orthodox churches has turned into a cliffhanger only days before it is set to open.

Florida Catholic Charities workers console, support victims’ families

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Since the worst shooting attack in America occurred June 12, Catholic Charities of Central Florida has been working in the background to help victims, survivors and family members in whatever way possible.

Gordie Howe an animal on the ice, a saint off it

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An amazing hockey player he may have been, but Gordie Howe’s greatest legacy will be that he was an even better human being, one who touched the lives of all of us and our families.

Anglican priest in Kenya joins lawsuit demanding greater rights for gays

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NAIROBI, Kenya – An Anglican priest has joined two gay men and two lesbians in a suit against the state over discriminatory laws that they see as encroaching on the rights and freedoms of sexual minorities in the East African country.

Vigils commemorate the victims slaughtered in Orlando mass shooting

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ORLANDO, Fla.  – In Orlando and major cities around the United States and the world, people gathered June 13 to pay tribute to the 50 killed — including the gunman — and more than 50 injured in the shooting rampage in Orlando the previous day.

Gordie Howe was a true family man

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DETROIT – He was Mr. Hockey, but he was also Mr. Family.

That’s what Fr. J.J. Mech will take away from knowing Gordie Howe, the Detroit Red Wings hockey legend who passed away June 10 at the age of 88.

Bangladesh’s deadly attacks terrify its religious minorities

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The killings of two Hindus, one Christian and the wife of an anti-terror official in Muslim-majority Bangladesh last week have left members of minority religious communities afraid for their lives and skeptical of the government’s ability to provide security.

Patriarchs call for liberation from Islamic State of Iraqi lands where Christians lived

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BEIRUT – Syriac patriarchs, marking the two-year anniversary since the Islamic State group expelled Christians from a large part of Iraq, denounced "the ethno-religious genocide" of their people and called for the liberation of those areas.

Chicago archbishop decries targeting of gays in Orlando attack

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Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich has decried the apparent targeting of gays and lesbians in the Orlando nightclub massacre and called for greater efforts on gun control, the first senior U.S. Catholic churchman to identify a likely reason the victims were singled out and raise the controversial issue of access to weapons.

'A sword has pierced heart' of city, says Orlando bishop about shooting

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Bishop John Noonan urged people of faith "to turn their hearts and souls" to God and pray for the victims, the families and first responders following the worst mass shooting in U.S. history June 12.