News/International

NAIROBI, Kenya - Churches in eastern and southern Africa are appealing for humanitarian aid in the region, as 36 million people grapple with the worst drought in decades.

Surviving nun recalls Yemen massacre

By

ROME - A chilling, eyewitness account of a deadly attack on a Catholic nursing home in Yemen has detailed how four nuns were sought out by gunmen who then executed them before destroying the Christian symbols in the residence’s chapel.

Boko Haram causes ‘psychosis of fear’ to Cameroon Church life

By

OXFORD, England - A Catholic aid official warned that Church life faces "grave disruption" from Boko Haram in Cameroon after a local bishop confirmed the Nigeria-based group had caused a "psychosis of fear."

U.S. secretary of state says Islamic State is committing genocide against minorities

By

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that atrocities carried out by the Islamic State group against Yezidis, Christians and other minorities were genocide, the first U.S. declaration of genocide since Sudanese actions in Darfur in 2004.

As Syria war drags on, Vatican official notes sense of helplessness

By

VATICAN CITY - Five years after the war in Syria began, there is a "feeling of helplessness in front of an endless human tragedy," a Vatican official told the UN Human Rights Council.

Irish rebels with a cause not forgotten

By

DUBLIN, Ireland - This Easter marks the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland against British rule, one of the most important events in Irish history.

French cardinal accused of cover-up in widening abuse scandal

By

PARIS - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on a prominent cardinal to “assume his responsibilities” amid widening allegations of a pedophilia cover-up targeting Lyon’s Roman Catholic diocese.

Report finds Church of England failed to deal with sex abuse by clergy

By

CANTERBURY, England - The Church of England has promised to make far-reaching changes in dealing with future sex abuse cases after the publication of the first independent review commissioned by the country’s established church into its handling of such cases in the past.

At Vatican trial, official says he felt threatened to release documents

By

VATICAN CITY - The secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See testified in a Vatican court that he felt he was being threatened and had little choice but to give confidential documents to two Italian reporters.

Refugee fears ‘reasonable’: Archbishop of Canterbury

By

CANTERBURY, England - Labelling people who are worried about mass migration into their country as racist is “absolutely outrageous,” Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby wrote in The House, a magazine read mainly by members of Parliament.

UNICEF official warns no place is safe for Syria's children

By

AMMAN, Jordan - As peace talks get underway in Geneva trying to end the 5-year-old war in Syria, the U.N. children's agency warned that more than 80 per cent of Syria's children have been harmed by the destructive conflict.