News/International

Pope Francis smiles alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin during a private audience at the Vatican Nov. 25, 2013.

Putin to visit Pope Francis amid global tensions

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VATICAN CITY - Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Pope Francis on June 10, with pressure on the pontiff to speak up about the Kremlin’s role in the Ukraine conflict.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian offers his condolences to Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo in late February. Earlier in the month, Islamic State released a video of the killing of Egyptian Christians in Libya.

French Catholics want countries to quit buying oil from Islamic State

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OXFORD, England - French Catholics have urged church support for a campaign to stop Western companies from buying oil from Islamic State, in effect funding the mass killing of Christians.

Men collect fuel oil from rocks April 23 following an oil spill along Veneguera beach in Spain's Canary Islands. Few papal encyclicals have been as eagerly awaited as Pope Francis' upcoming statement on the environment to be published June 19.

Encyclical named after St. Francis prayer to be released June 18

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Sii" (Praised Be), a line from St. Francis of Assisi's "Canticle of Creatures," will be released June 18, the Vatican press office announced.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone speaks to traditional marriage supporters in Washington June 19, 2014. Archbishop Cordileone criticized “gender ideology” as a threat to society and the church.

San Francisco archbishop blasts gender transitions as threat to faith

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NEW YORK - Amid the national buzz over transgender celebrity Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner, a leading culture warrior in the Catholic hierarchy on June 3 denounced the spread of “gender ideology” and warned that it threatens the very foundation of the Church’s faith.

Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana waves after concelebrating Mass Sept. 14, 2014 at the Basilica-Cathedral Notre Dame de Quebec in Quebec City.

Cardinal Ortega says Cubans await Pope with 'open arms'

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VATICAN CITY - Cubans are waiting for Pope Francis "with open arms," said Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana.

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 27.

Pope heads to Bosnia as 'brother messenger of peace'

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said he will dedicate his one-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina to encouraging a minority Catholic community in the faith, fostering ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and calling for peace and harmony after the devastations of war.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, gestures as he speaks during a Feb. 4 press conference at the Vatican.

Key figure in families meeting investigated for alleged misuse of funds

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PHILADELPHIA - Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the head of the Pontifical Council for the Family and lead Vatican organizer of September's World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, is under investigation by Italian prosecutors for alleged embezzlement.

A woman lights a candle on a wooden cross after an April 14 memorial concert in Nairobi, Kenya, for the 147 people killed in an attack on Garissa University College. Pope Francis is calling for perpetrators of extremist violence in Kenya "to come to their senses and seek mercy."

Christian teachers in northern Kenya stage walkout because of terrorist fears

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NAIROBI, Kenya - Recent attacks by Somalia’s al-Shabab Muslim militant group have forced the closure of dozens of schools in Kenya’s north, as Christian teachers refuse to work because of security fears.

Retired Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi addresses a protest in Delhi, India, March 19. Activists say there have been 168 incidents of anti-Christian violence and harassment, along with 222 incidents of "hate speech and media campaigns" during the f irst 300 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

India’s Christians concerned about growing attacks on religious minorities

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NEW DELHI - Each day, children on their way to Mount Carmel School pass through gates under the watch of armed security guards, and now city police officers who stop there on government orders after a nearby Catholic convent and school were broken into.

Villagers walk toward Goma, Congo, to flee regional fighting in 2012. Bishops from eastern Congo criticized the failure of their government and the United Nations to act against ìgenocide, jihadist fundamentalism and Balkanization" in the country.

Bishops in eastern Congo say they face 'genocide ... Balkanization'

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BUKAVU, Congo - Bishops from eastern Congo criticized the failure of their government and the United Nations to act against "genocide, jihadist fundamentalism and Balkanization" in the country, which is widely considered Africa's most Catholic.

Refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh are seen in their boat before their rescue by fisherman in Julok, Indonesia, May 20.

Myanmar's cardinal urges end to hate speech, help for fleeing Rohingya

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YANGON, Myanmar - Cardinal Charles Bo has asked the government of Myanmar to squelch hate speech and do more to help Rohingya refugees, many of whom have fled the country and are trapped at sea as countries refuse them entry.

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