News/International

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee conducts a hearing on Capitol Hill, July 23. Observers expect Pope Francis to affirm and challenge U.S. politicians during his September visit.

Observers expect Pope Francis to affirm and challenge politicians during visit

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner -- two high-profile Catholic politicians -- the visual of Pope Francis' Sept. 24 address to Congress will signal an evolving narrative.

Patriarch Aphrem, head of the Syrian Orthodox Church.

Beware making Mideast Christians 'collateral damage,' patriarch warns

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Updated 03/09/15
MARKHAM, ONT. - Christians in the Middle East should not be considered as collateral damage of the wars in Syria and Iraq, says Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II during his first apostolic visit to Canada.

Forensic experts investigate a truck in which refugees were found dead on a freeway between Parndorf and Neusiedl, Austria, Aug. 27.

Pope Francis asks prayers for refugees after 71 found dead in truck

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis joined Austrian church leaders in praying for the 71 refugees found dead in an abandoned truck near Vienna and he condemned the smuggling of migrants as an offense "against the whole human family."

A baptism conducted by California mission friars is shown in a sketch displayed at the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala in San Diego, one of the missions founded by Blessed Junipero Serra. This drawing is part of a collection of sketches depicting mission life by California artists A.B. Dodge and Alexander Harmer.

Serra’s canonization triggers controversy

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Blessed Junipero Serra’s motto was “always forward, never back.” But as the date nears for his canonization by Pope Francis, Serra’s life of faithful evangelization is being fiercely — and many say unfairly — questioned by detractors who insist on looking back into the life and times of the 18th-century missionary priest.

Homes are seen surrounded by floodwaters and oil slicks in St. Bernard Parish, south of New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina swept through the area in 2005. A decade after Hurricane Katrina, the city continues to rebuild.

New Orleans Archdiocese: Forever changed by Hurricane Katrina

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NEW ORLEANS - They are calling it "Kat 10" — Hurricane Katrina plus 10 years — which carries with it the double meaning of an ominous meteorological warning.

#BringBackOurGirls campaigners in Abuja raise candles during a gathering Aug. 27, to mark the 500th day that more than 200 girls of the Government Secondary School were abducted by Boko Haram in their dormitory in Chibok, Nigeria.

Nigerian cardinal joins #BringBackOurGirls to mark 500 days of captivity

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ABUJA, Nigeria - Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja and Sheik Nura Khalid, chief imam of Apo Legislators Quarters Jumu'at Mosque, joined the members of the #BringBackOurGirls movement Aug. 27 to mark the 500 days that more than 200 girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, who were abducted by Boko Haram in their dormitory April 14, 2014.

An armed police officer climbs stairs at the hotel where 17 people died in Sevare, Mali, Aug. 11.

CRS worker says Mali violence has not disrupted Christian-Muslim ties

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OXFORD, England - A Catholic aid worker in Mali said Islamist violence failed to disrupt friendly ties between Christians and Muslims, and he called for a coordinated development strategy as "the best means to combat extremism."

A woman with three children receives a contraceptive implant embedded under her skin at the Likhaan Women's Health Center in Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6. The device prevents pregnancy for three years.

Philippine bishops: Look at family planning through lens of faith

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MANILA, Philippines - More than a year after a controversial reproductive health law took effect in the Philippines, the Church was mustering clergy and lay workers to reignite the formation of the faithful with regard to family planning.

Ricardo Lemos, 28, shreds cooked chicken for sandwiches his wife sells daily in Quito, Ecuador. The family fled violence in Colombia.

Colombians who flee to Ecuador face discrimination, and fear remains

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QUITO, Ecuador - Carlos Leon and Carmen Barrera thought the worst was over when they escaped the death threats in Colombia.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is trying to end taxpayer support of Planned Parenthood and reaching out to evangelicals to do so. He is pictured here in a 2013 photo.

Ted Cruz tries to rouse evangelicals with campaign against Planned Parenthood

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U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is waging a campaign to defund Planned Parenthood, an effort involving pastors, sermons and fasting that the Texas senator insists isn’t political.

Seminarians serve food to Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2005 at a temporary shelter in Baton Rouge, La. From the time the storm struck New Orleans through February 2006, Catholic Charities in the Baton Rouge Diocese served 103,187 people, and received more than $17 million in grant funding that was distributed in myriad of ways.

Katrina evacuees found shelter, relief in Baton Rouge Diocese

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BATON ROUGE, La. - Ten years later the memories still linger for Carol Spruell, as if they happened yesterday but perhaps were a lifetime ago.

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