News/International

Pope Francis, left, was to meet Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill Feb. 12 in Cuba. Ukrainian Catholics hope they will be treated as a full partner in the historic dialogue between Rome and Moscow.

Ukrainians: don’t throw us under the bus

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Nobody wants the Pope to meet Moscow’s Orthodox patriarch more than the Ukrainian Catholics, but the Eastern-rite Catholics want to be sure their Church is treated as a full partner in the dialogue between Rome and Moscow.

Chinese Catholics receive Communion in 2012 during Christmas Eve Mass in Beijing. A top Politburo official told faith leaders that religious groups must promote Chinese culture and become more compatible with socialism.

Communist official to religious leaders: Promote Chinese culture

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BEIJING - A top Politburo official told faith leaders that religious groups must promote Chinese culture and become more compatible with socialism.

A woman reacts as rescuers search for survivors Feb. 7 after a magnitude-6.4 magnitude earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, the previous day. Pope Francis sent condolences following the quake that hit as the island prepared to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Pope sends condolences after earthquake in Taiwan

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TAINAN, Taiwan - Pope Francis sent condolences to Taiwan following an earthquake that left at least 37 people dead as the island prepared to celebrate Chinese New Year, reported ucanews.com.

Obama: An attack on one faith is attack on all faiths

Obama: An attack on one faith is attack on all faiths

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In an exclusive commentary for Religion News Service, President Barack Obama makes the case for religious freedom.

Iraqi soldiers evacuate families from Ramadi, Iraq, Feb. 3, after the city was recently recaptured by Iraqi forces. A European bishops' commission has welcomed a move by the European Parliament to classify atrocities and religious cleansing by the Islamic State as genocide.

European bishops welcome EU classification of Islamic State 'genocide'

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MANCHESTER, England - A European bishops' commission has welcomed a move by the European Parliament to classify atrocities and religious cleansing by the Islamic State as genocide.

A health worker carries out fumigation as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus and other mosquito-born diseases at a cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru.

Honduran cardinal warns against abortion for Zika fetuses

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Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a top adviser to Pope Francis, has denounced the idea of “therapeutic abortions” — which are carried out because of fetal abnormalities — as a response to birth defects caused by the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is setting off alarms throughout Latin America.

Obama pleads for tolerance in first visit to U.S. mosque

Obama pleads for tolerance in first visit to U.S. mosque

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CATONSVILLE, Md. - In times of rising Islamophobia, U.S. President Barack Obama made a plea for religious tolerance during his first presidential visit to an American mosque.

Syrian refugees wait at the border Jan. 13 near Royashed, Jordan. As a donors conference to stem the Syrian refugee crisis opens in London, Syria's neighbors, which have hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees for the past five years, say they cannot continue to bear the brunt of the burden.

Jordan says it cannot continue to bear brunt of Syrian refugee crisis

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AL-KHALDIYA, Jordan - As a donors conference to stem the Syrian refugee crisis opens in London, Syria's neighbors, which have hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees for the past five years, say they cannot continue to bear the brunt of the burden.

A man crosses a police cordon during a protest against the government and the electoral process Jan. 29 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haiti's Catholic bishops urged political leaders to reach a negotiated solution to the country's looming political crisis as President Michel Martelly's term ends Feb. 7 and elections to find a successor have been indefinitely delayed.

Haitian bishops call for quick, negotiated solution to pending political crisis

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti's Catholic bishops urged political leaders to reach a negotiated solution to the country's looming political crisis as President Michel Martelly's term ends Feb. 7 and elections to find a successor have been indefinitely delayed.

A pregnant woman waits to be seen Jan. 29 at the Women's National Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador. Health officials have urged women to postpone their pregnancies for two years, because the Zika virus can produce microcephaly, a rare neurological condition that causes smaller heads in newborns, affecting the normal development of their brain.

Salvadoran priests: Government can't tell women when to get pregnant

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - The Salvadoran bishops have made no comment on a government recommendation to women to delay pregnancy because of the Zika virus, and priests contacted by Catholic News Service gave varied responses on their reaction.

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica is seen in the distance as people attend the Family Day rally at the Circus Maximus in Rome Jan. 30. The rally was held to oppose a bill in the Italian Senate that would allow civil unions for homosexual and heterosexual couples.

Italy: 'Family Day' rally draws hundreds of thousands

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ROME - Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Rome's Circus Maximus to protest against a proposed bill that would grant legal recognition to nonmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples and give them the right to adopt children.

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