News/International

A painting of Mary and the Christ Child is is seen in 2014 at the damaged St. Thecla Orthodox monastery in the predominantly Christian town of Maaloula, Syria. Russia's Catholic Church has launched a joint project with Russian Orthodox leaders to rebuild churches and monasteries destroyed during the war in Syria.

Russia's Catholic, Orthodox to rebuild church buildings in Syria

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WARSAW, Poland – Russia's Catholic Church has launched a joint project with Russian Orthodox leaders to rebuild churches and monasteries destroyed during the war in Syria.

The Institute for the Works of Religion, popularly known as the Vatican bank, is located in the Bastion of Nicholas V in the Vatican. Founded in 1942 the bank... The tower is pictured in a 2009 file photo.

Vatican finance watchdog notes jump in reports of suspicious activity

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VATICAN CITY – The Vatican's financial watchdog agency reported a huge jump in the number of financial transactions flagged as "suspicious" and in the value of assets it has blocked or frozen.
During 2015, the Financial Intelligence Authority "received 544 reports of suspicious activities — almost three times as many as 2014," it said in its annual report, released April 28.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Germany receives guests in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on February 18, 2012.

German cardinal tarred as ‘Antichrist’ for defending Muslims

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A German Catholic leader’s defense of religious freedom has triggered a backlash following anti-Muslim statements by far-right politicians in the country.

PHOTO: People demonstrate against the Austrian government's planned re-introduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass April 24. Bishop Agidius Zsfikovics of Eisenstadt has refused to allow an anti-refugee border fence across land belonging to his diocese, saying the government-backed move violates Christian values.

Austrian bishop says 'no' to border fence on Church property

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VIENNA – An Austrian bishop said the government may not use Church property to build a border fence to keep out refugees.

Canadian John Ridsdel is pictured in an undated photo. The Philippine military and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the decapitation April 25 of Ridsdel, a former mining consultant from Calgary, Alberta, kidnapped in September.

Philippine Church officials outraged over beheading of Canadian Ridsdel

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MANILA, Philippines – Some Philippine church officials expressed outrage and sadness over the beheading of a Canadian hostage in the restive southern part of the country, where they say lasting peace needs to be addressed.

Residents recover some of their belongings April 25 from debris of a destroyed building in Canoa, Ecuador. Catholic agencies will begin building temporary shelters for thousands of families displaced by the April 16 magnitude-7.8 earthquake, the country's worst natural disaster in nearly seven decades.

Catholic agencies begin work of rebuilding after Ecuador quake

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QUITO, Ecuador – Catholic agencies are beginning to build temporary shelters for thousands of families in Ecuador made homeless by the South American country's worst natural disaster in nearly seven decades.

Economic Freedom Fighters disrupt South African President Jacob Zuma during his State of the Nation address in Cape Town Feb. 11.

South African bishop warns politicians against war rhetoric

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CAPE TOWN, South Africa – War rhetoric from South African political leaders could incite election violence and civil war, a South African bishop warned.

Pope Francis smiles as he attends an Earth Day celebration April 24 at Villa Borghese Garden in Rome.

Dive into world's problems with courage, Pope says at Earth Day event

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VATICAN CITY – Dive into the world's problems with courage and help people turn their lives of desolation into abundance and hope, Pope Francis said.

Exterior view of the Jewish Catacombs that date back to second century near the Appian Way in Rome.

Rome’s Jewish catacombs set to open to the public

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ROME – Beneath a former vineyard near the legendary Appian Way lies one of the Italian capital’s untold secrets, a vast underground catacomb where Jews buried their dead nearly 2,000 years ago.

Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, is pictured in an undated photo. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York has opened the canonical inquiry on the life of the social justice advocate, the archdiocese announced April 19.

Inquiry into Dorothy Day's life next step in sainthood cause

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NEW YORK – A canonical inquiry into the life of Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, will begin soon and extend to the end of the year, according to the Archdiocese of New York, which is sponsoring her sainthood cause and is where Day oversaw Catholic Worker houses.

Dominican Sister Lemia Atala instructs students at the Al Bishara School in Ankawa, Iraq, April 7. The Islamic State group displaced the students and the Dominican Sisters in 2014.

Dominican nuns keep hope alive among displaced in northern Iraq

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IRBIL, Iraq – When the Islamic State group rolled across Iraq's Ninevah Plain in 2014, tens of thousands of Christians fled for their lives to Kurdish-controlled areas of the country. They still wait in limbo in crowded camps, facing an undefined future. The only certainty they enjoy is knowing that whatever happens to them, a group of Dominican nuns will be at their side.

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