News/International

Demonstrators marched against homosexuality along Nairobi’s Uhuru Highway on July 6, 2015. They chanted in support of the family.

African clergy to protest Obama’s gay-rights ‘agenda’ on trip

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NAIROBI, Kenya - Anti-gay activists, including conservative clerics, traditional elders and politicians, are threatening to resist any push by U.S. President Barack Obama for gay rights during his Kenya visit this week, with tactics that range from throwing rotten eggs to marching naked and boycotting his speeches.

Pope Francis addresses a workshop on climate change and human trafficking attended by mayors from around the world in the synod hall at the Vatican July 21. Local government leaders were invited to the Vatican by the pontifical academies of sciences and social sciences to sign a declaration recognizing that climate change and extreme poverty are influenced by human activity. Also seen are, from left, Argentine model Valeria Mazza, serving as master of ceremonies; Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancell or of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences; Cardinal Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Italy; and Cardinal Claudio Hummes, former prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

World's mayors head to Vatican, vow to tackle climate change, poverty

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VATICAN CITY - After decades of world leaders trying to set global goals to address climate change and extreme poverty, city mayors gathered at the Vatican to pledge they will take real action and lead the fight on their streets.

Pope Francis named Fr. Robert Barron, 55, Msgr. Joseph V. Brennan, 61, and Msgr. David G. O'Connell, 61, as auxiliary bishops for the Los Angeles archdiocese.

Fr. Robert Barron, one of three auxiliary bishops named for Los Angeles

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WASHINGTON - Pope Francis has named three auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles including Fr. Robert Barron, creator of the Catholicism television series.

Father Bashar Kthea, 39, a Syriac Catholic priest, poses for a photo July 17 in Irbil, Iraq. Initially living in his car after fleeing the town of Qaraqosh, Iraq, last August, when Islamic State forces overran it, he now ministers in a camp for displaced Christians in a Kurdish-controlled part of the country.

Priest finds frustrations build among Christians in Iraq camp

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MANCHESTER, England - When the Islamic State overran the Iraqi town of Qaraqosh last August, one of the priests there jumped into his car and joined the exodus of Christians on the road east in the hope of reaching the safety of Kurdish-controlled territory.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, talks to the media at the end of the bishops' plenary session in Manila July 13.

Philippine archbishop: Protecting environment benefits poorest nations

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MANILA, Philippines - The president of the Philippine bishops' conference called climate change a matter of social justice and said that caring for Earth should not just be a goal to benefit this generation but also future generations.

Two police officers set up a barrier in front of a building June 28 after a fire destroyed a reception center for asylum seekers in Meissen, Germany. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich-Freising, president of German bishops' conference, said an attack July 16 in the Bavarian town of Reichertshofen revealed that "some groups" were trying to "sow hatred" against migrants.

German cardinal says arson attacks on immigrant hostels 'sow hatred'

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MUNICH - A German Catholic Church leader condemned an arson attack that destroyed a reception centre for asylum seekers.

California governor Jerry Brown said there is a responsibility to keep the environment safe for future generations. Brown warned that if humans were to continue damaging the environment, millions will suffer and die. He is pictured in Toronto speaking at the Climate Summit of the Americas July 8.

California governor says Laudato Si' was necessary wake-up call

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ROME - Elections, like profit reports, have regular short-term rhythms, which is why Pope Francis' encyclical letter on the environment was so "appropriate and absolutely essential" for waking people up to the dangers of climate change, said California Gov. Jerry Brown.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, talks with Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary Oct. 14, 2014. Pell noted the Pope's Laudato Si' encyclical had been "well received" but says the Church should be involved in scientific matters in an interview with Financial Times.

Cardinal Pell takes a swing at Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican’s financial chief, Cardinal George Pell, has taken the unusual step of criticizing Pope Francis’ groundbreaking environmental encyclical, arguing the Catholic Church has “no particular expertise in science.”

Daejeon Bishop Lazzaro You talks to parishioners at Holy Korean Martyrs in Ottawa July 15.

Francis’ South Korean trip still bearing fruit, says Korean Bishop

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OTTAWA - A year later, Pope Francis' visit to South Korea continues to bear fruit in the Asian nation, said Daejeon Bishop Lazzaro You.

A displaced Syrian girl finds temporary shelter at a school in Damascus, Syria, Feb. 23.

Christians grow weary over rising threat of kidnapping in Syria, Iraq

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AMMAN, Jordan - Arab Christians are viewing with growing concern and revulsion an uptick in kidnappings of both their clergy and civilians as violence worsens in Syria and Iraq.

Ukrainian Catholic Father Tykhon Kulbaka , who was held in pro-Russian separatists' captivity for 12 days, speaks with a U.S. delegation June 22 in Lviv. The priest recalled his 12 days in captivity and said the emotional captivity that followed was worse than his physical captivity.

Ukrainian priest says his emotional captivity was worse than physical

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LVIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian Catholic Father Tykhon Kulbaka was headed to the chapel in the room rented by the local Catholic community. En route, he stopped at a grocery store, where four men grabbed him, blindfolded him and made him breathe chloroform.

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