News/International

Bishop Paul Simick of Nepal visits 4-year-old Catholic Sujina Ghale and her mother, Chaju Ghale, in Banyatar, Nepal, April 30. Sujina was presumed dead and was kept among dead bodies for cremation after she was pulled out of the debris of the house following the April 25 earthquake.

Amid Nepal’s shattered shrines and temples, a religious fatalism sets in

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KATHMANDU, Nepal - When a 7.8-magnitude earthquake roared through this Himalayan nation April 25, leaving an estimated 5,500 dead and more than 11,000 injured, shrines and temples were sent crashing to the ground, many of them centuries old and irreplaceable cultural treasures.

Alex Thier, assistant to the administrator for policy, planning, and learning for US Agency for International Development, addresses a forum on ending extreme poverty at The Catholic University of America in Washington April 28.

Poverty advocates see the day when poverty is no more

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WASHINGTON - With extreme poverty having been cut in half over the last generation — and the Millennium Development Goals target of poverty halving having been achieved five years ahead of the 2015 deadline — veterans of the global war on poverty believe it is possible that extreme poverty can be wiped out in the next 15 years.

Belgian Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels is pictured in a March 15 photo.

Ruling against Belgian archbishop could spur claims for damages

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OXFORD, England - A Belgian bishop said the president of the bishops' conference urged Catholics to respect a court judgment against him for failing to act on allegations of abuse.

Supporters for same-sex marriage stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington April 28.The high court began hearing arguments in cases involving four states that bar same-sex marriage.

U.S. high court considers place of same-sex marriage in states that bar it

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WASHINGTON - The questions raised by U.S. Supreme Court justices as they considered April 28 whether they should rule that same-sex marriage should be made legal nationwide covered a gamut of rights concerns — religious, equal protection, states' ability to enact their own laws.

Prabin Shresta, a member of a Salesian relief team called Nepal Don Bosco Society, provides a snack to earthquake survivors April 26. Inclement weather and logistical pressures have slowed down relief for Nepal earthquake victims.

Pope prays for Nepal quake victims, sends donation, urges solidarity

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VATICAN CITY - Santosh Kumar Magar said he was attending the ordination of a new priest in Okhaldhunga, a remote part of eastern Nepal, when the devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit April 25.

Christy Lewis and a neighborhood youth sweep broken glass and debris outside a looted store in West Baltimore April 28. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to address the violence that erupted in respo nse to the unexplained death of a 25-year-old black man while in police custody.

Catholics join efforts to heal, clean up, move forward in Baltimore

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BALTIMORE - As the city cleaned up after a night of riots, looting and fires following the funeral of Freddie Gray, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said the Church's place is to pray, be a voice for peace and participate in a wider community dialogue to solve the systemic issues that led to the unrest.

A mourner pats the hearse holding the casket of Freddie Gray outside New Shiloh Baptist Church in West Baltimore April 27 after a funeral service. Riots erupted nearby in response to the death of Gray, 25, who died April 19, one week after being arrested and sustaining a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody.

Fleeting peace as Baltimore pays final respects to Freddie Gray

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BALTIMORE - For four hours April 27, Freddie Gray Jr. was patiently and prayerfully memorialized.

That peace, however, was extremely fragile.

Survivors look at destroyed buildings April 27 following an earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal. More than 3,600 people were known to have been killed and more than 6,500 others injured after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake hit a mountainous region near Kathmandu April 25.

Inclement weather, logistical issues delay aid for Nepal quake victims

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KATHMANDU, Nepal - Inclement weather and logistical pressures were delaying aid to hundreds of thousands of Nepalese earthquake victims.

A woman who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar sits with a child inside a tent at a camp in Syria's northern town of Qamishli Aug. 17, 2014.

Christian exodus from Mideast weakens moderate Islam: Cardinal Rai

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PARIS - The exodus of Christians from the Middle East — due to wars, conflicts, socio-economic crises and persecution — will weaken moderate Islam "which, thanks to the Islamic-Christian conviviality, is so far the vast majority of Muslims in the Middle East," said Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai.

Citizens rallied on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday (June 30), after it sided with the evangelical owners of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., ruling 5-4 that the arts-and-crafts chain does not have to offer insurance for types of birth control that conflict with company owners’ religious beliefs.

U.S. faith leaders call for religious protections ahead of gay marriage hearing

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As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on April 28 that could wind up legalizing gay marriage nationwide, dozens of Christian leaders have issued a call to civil authorities to preserve “the unique meaning of marriage in the law” — but also to “protect the rights of those with differing views of marriage.”

A man rides a bicycle taxi with several national flags on it along a street in late March in Havana. Pope Francis will visit Cuba in September before his trip to the United States.

Pope's Cuba visit expected to boost Church's role there

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TLALNEPANTLA, Mexico - The president of the Latin American bishops' conference called Pope Francis' planned visit to Cuba an opportunity for the Church to play a larger role in a country experiencing reforms and re-embracing institutionalized religion.

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