News/International

A woman holds firewood distributed near a makeshift camp for migrants April 14 at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece. A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis' April 16 trip to Greece is humanitarian, not political.

Trip to Greece is humanitarian, not political, Vatican spokesman says

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VATICAN CITY – In a "humanitarian and ecumenical gesture," not a political one, Pope Francis is to join Orthodox leaders in personally meeting with hundreds of refugees and migrants stranded in Greece, the Vatican spokesman said.

Archbishop Juliusz Paetz, formerly of Poznan, Poland, is pictured in an undated file photo. Archbishop Paetz, who resigned in 2002 after being accused of sexually molesting Catholic seminarians, has been warned by the Vatican to stay away from commemorations of Poland's Christian conversion and an upcoming visit by Pope Francis.

Vatican reiterates Polish archbishop should shun public Church events

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WARSAW, Poland– A Polish archbishop who resigned after sexually molesting Catholic seminarians has been warned by the Vatican to stay away from commemorations of Poland's Christian conversion and an upcoming visit by the Pope.

An Iraqi-Kurdish refugee family waits to be transferred from a makeshift camp April 11 at the port town of Skaramagkas, Greece. Pope Francis will travel to Lesbos, Greece, April 16.

Together on the margins: Lesbos trip to be ecumenical sign of service

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VATICAN CITY – Before St. John Paul II arrived in Greece in 2001 there were protests by Orthodox faithful and an all-night prayer vigil by Orthodox monks on Mount Athos, praying that the pope would not come.

Women religious and others demonstrate against the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate March 23 near the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The court heard oral arguments inthe Zubik v. Burwell mandate case.

Religious groups say 'yes' to U.S. Supreme Court's idea on contraceptive coverage

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WASHINGTON – The American religious nonprofits challenging their participation in the contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act agreed with a U.S. Supreme Court proposal that such coverage be provided through an alternative health care plan without involving the religious employers in a legal brief filed with the court.

A migrant runs with a tear gas canister during clashes with Macedonian police April 10 at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece. Pope Francis will travel to Lesbos, Greece, April 16.

Pope's visit to Greece comes at time of fear, uncertainty for refugees

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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' trip to Lesbos, Greece, April 16 comes at a frightening and critical time for tens of thousands of refugees and migrants waiting and wondering where they will end up, said members of Catholic aid agencies.

Rachel Daniel, 35, holds up a picture of her abducted daughter, Rose Daniel, 17, as her son Bukar, 7, sits beside her at her home in Maiduguri on May 21, 2014. Rose was abducted along with more than 200 of her classmates on April 14, 2014, by Boko Haram militants from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno state.

Hope and frustration mark anniversary of Chibok kidnappings

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Two years after the abduction of nearly 300 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria, some parents are still hoping their daughters will one day be rescued.

Photo/Pixabay

Highly religious people say they’re happier, too, survey finds

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Look around. Three in 10 people you see claim they are pretty satisfied with life, happy, healthy and moral, too.

People join in a procession outside the Catholic Church of the Baptism of the Lord in Amman, Jordan, Jan. 16.

Syrian Christian families who fled to Europe begin to return home

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VATICAN CITY – Hundreds of Christian families are returning to Sadad, Syria, more than two years after their city was overrun by terrorists, a local official said.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York listens to Amal Mare during a visit to a camp for internally displaced families in Ankawa, Iraq, April 9.

U.S. Catholic leaders visiting Iraq challenged to go home, work for peace

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IRBIL, Iraq – A delegation of U.S. Catholic leaders visiting northern Iraq was challenged to go home and work for peace in the troubled region.

The opening proceedings for the 'VatiLeaks' case are seen in a Vatican courtroom Nov. 24, 2015.

Defendant in 'VatiLeaks' trial denies giving documents to reporters

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VATICAN CITY – The man who served as executive secretary of a commission Pope Francis established to study Vatican finances said he never gave documents of any kind to Italian journalists and, in fact, met the two reporters only when he and they entered a Vatican courtroom to face charges connected to the leaking of the documents.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Orthodox Metropolitan John of Pergamon, hold copies of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment last summer.

Climate change action is not about taking jobs away, cardinal says

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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' call to action on climate change does not want to ruin any business, provoking job losses, but seeks to point humanity in the right direction in protecting the environment for future generations, a Vatican official said.

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