News/International

Flint resident Ruby Adolph carries bottled water and a replacement water filter she received at a fire station in Flint, Mich., on Jan. 13, 2016.

Religious groups focus on Flint’s water woes

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Catholic Charities is giving out water and food. The Flint Jewish Federation is collecting water and water filters. And the Michigan Muslim Community Council has distributed more than 120,000 bottles of clean water for Flint, Mich.

Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, New Mexico, chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, greets Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, meet Jan. 17. They concelebrated Mass for migrants and refugees at the basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa.

Refugees in Lebanon plead with USCCB representatives for help in resettling

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BEIRUT - Myrna calmly begins describing the challenges she faces as a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, but soon breaks down in tears over the enormous problems that have upset her family life: her husband has no work and her 7-year-old son with a heart condition now wets in his sleep because of stress. Some days the family goes without eating.

Dormition Abbey, Mt. Zion, Jerusalem

Church leaders condemn new vandalism at two Christian sites in Jerusalem

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JERUSALEM - One week after a Christian cemetery was desecrated outside of Jerusalem, two more Christian sites were vandalized in the city.

Paul Bhatti advises the Pakistani government on minority affairs, having previously held the ministerial post on the matter.

Slain Pakistani Christian’s brother campaigns against blasphemy law

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ROME - Paul Bhatti, a Roman Catholic, worked as a surgeon in his home country of Pakistan and in Europe, while his brother, Shahbaz, went into politics and became Pakistan’s only Christian Cabinet member as the country’s first minister of minority affairs.

Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the international Anglican Communion, in Canterbury, England. The Anglican Communion voted to censure its American branch, the Episcopal Church, during a meeting in Canterbury, England, called to reflect on the future of the communion.

Episcopal Church suspended from Anglican Communion

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The Anglican Communion voted to censure its American branch, the Episcopal Church, during a meeting in Canterbury, England, called to reflect on the future of the communion.

2015 was ‘worst year’ for Christian persecution, says Open Doors

2015 was ‘worst year’ for Christian persecution, says Open Doors

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WASHINGTON - With North Korea leading the way and Islamic extremism rapidly expanding, 2015 was the “worst year in modern history for Christian persecution,” according to a group tracking this issue.

Pilgrims hold up images of Our Lady of Guadalupe during an annual pilgrimage in her honor at the cathedral in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Dec. 11.

El Paso Mass scrapped, but not papal Mass across border

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EL PASO, Texas - The Diocese of El Paso has scrapped plans for a border Mass that would have taken place at the same time as the closing Mass of Pope Francis' visit to Mexico in February.

Bishops from North America, Europe and South Africa process into the Church of the Good Shepherd for a Jan. 11 Mass on the grounds of the Our Lady of Peace Center on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan. The Mass was held in solidarity with scores of Iraqi Christian refugees displaced by Islamic State militants, to let them know that they are not forgotten.

Bishops urge more peace efforts to help displaced Iraqi Christians

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AMMAN, Jordan - With crises in Syria and Iraq deepening, Catholic bishops on a solidarity visit with the "forgotten" Christians of the Middle East are urging stepped-up peace efforts to resolve conflicts tearing apart the troubled region.

People participate in the "little lanterns march" at the Central American University in San Salvador during the 2015 commemoration of the 26th anniversary of the massacre of six Jesuit priests and two women, murdered in November 1989 by a military commando.

Salvadoran prelate: Files available to bring justice in Jesuit murders

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - San Salvador Archbishop Jose Escobar Alas said church files on human rights violations committed during the civil war are available to help to find the truth and bring about justice in the killings of six Jesuit priests and two women, murdered in November 1989.

Salesians of Don Bosco Beit Jamal monastery outside of Jerusalem

Jerusalem church condemns vandalism of graves at Salesian monastery

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JERUSALEM - The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the vandalism of seven graves at the Salesians of Don Bosco Beit Jamal monastery outside of Jerusalem and called for more education for respect toward people of different religious backgrounds.

Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, N.M., stands in front of an Israeli border police jeep Jan. 10 near the Palestinian land in the Cremisan Valley in Beit Jalla, West Bank.

U.S. bishop says Palestinians in Cremisan Valley 'have lost hope'

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BEIT JALLA, West Bank - A U.S. bishop visiting the Holy Land for the second year in a row said Palestinians whose land has been divided by the Israeli separation barrier "have lost hope."

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