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News/International

Displaced Iraqi children stand in a classroom of a school used as a shelter in the city of Ramadi April 11. Educating children is the best way to help displaced Iraqi Christians recover from the traumatic experience of being chased from their homes by Is lamic State militants, said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster after an April 11-12 visit to Irbil.

Cardinal says education is key to Iraqi refugees' recovery

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VATICAN CITY - Educating children is the best way to help displaced Iraqi Christians recover from the traumatic experience of being chased from their homes by Islamic State militants, said Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, after an April 11-12 visit to Irbil.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the press April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland, following talks with Iran about its nuclear program. Adopting a framework for Iran's nuclear program is important step toward "a peaceful resolution of serious ques tions that have been raised regarding Iran's nuclear program," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

U.S. Catholic bishops back Obama on Iran, warn Congress against meddling

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The U.S. Catholic bishops have welcomed the Obama administration’s tentative agreement aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and their top spokesman on international affairs bluntly warned Congress against doing anything to undermine it.

Pope Francis is expected to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay this year. In this photo, Domenico Giani, commander of the Vatican police force, keeps watch as Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass in Manila, Philippines Jan. 16, 2015.

Latin American officials: Pope to visit three countries July 6-12

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MEXICO CITY - Pope Francis is expected to arrive July 6 in Ecuador, starting a three-country tour of his home continent, the Associated Press reported from Quito.

Cuba's President Raul Castro shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama as they hold a bilateral meeting during the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City April 11. Obama and Castro, who shook hands at the summit, seek to restore ties between the Cold War foes.

Obama and Castro take next steps to normalize U.S.-Cuba ties

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PANAMA CITY - An hourlong meeting April 11 between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro marked the first such personal encounter between the leaders of the two neighbouring countries since 1958.

Pope Francis looks on after greeting Armenian Catholic Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni during an April 12 Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Turkey recalls Vatican ambassador after Pope alludes to Armenian 'genocide'

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VATICAN CITY - Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Pope Francis said atrocities from the past have to be recognized — not hidden or denied — for true reconciliation and healing to come to the world.

A group of people head toward an outdoor meeting space used by Catholics in the Cuban countryside in this early March photo. With few places to worship, some Catholics have been using makeshift chapels or mission houses, with little more than a tin roof over them, to pray, gather for Mass or teach the catechism in places where there is no parish.

Family values, societal changes challenge Cuba's Catholic leaders

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BAYAMO, Cuba - In 2004, with the divorce rate looming around 70 percent in Cuba, the Catholic Church called for a "year of the family."

Sister Mariya Soosai, a member of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, leads a group of children March 7 in an arithmetic class in a camp for internally displaced families inside a U.N. base in Juba, South Sudan. Some 34,000 people have sought protection at the base since violence broke out in December 2013.

South Sudan church leaders push alternative peace process

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JUBA, South Sudan - Church leaders in South Sudan are trying to breathe new life into their country's stalled peace talks.

A cellphone screen displays an image of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, patroness of Cuba, in early March. Using memory cards on cellphones, a small number of Catholic Cubans have access to texts, such as the Bible or the Liturgy of the Hours, to help them maintain a life of prayer throughout the day.

Cubans find technological workarounds to help transmit faith

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HAVANA - It's a scene all too familiar in the U.S., but not one you'd expect in Cuba: a group of schoolgirls cupping their cellphones with their hands, protecting them from the glare of the tropical sun. Most are looking at pictures or listening to music downloaded on the phone's memory card. Few can access the Internet using their phones.

A procession enters Havana's Cathedral of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in mid-March. Some Catholic Cubans hold hope that better relations with the U.S. will also mean a better future for the church on the island.

John Paul II's visit marked 'a before and an after' for Cuban Church

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HAVANA - Sitting outside the church where she was baptized, 65-year-old Clementina Torres recalls the time when anyone who publicly admitted being a Catholic in Cuba faced a host of problems. It could mean not getting into the "right" university or program, being taunted by classmates or isolated by neighbours, or it resulted in being fired, demoted or not allowed to advance professionally.

People attend a memorial vigil in Nairobi, Kenya, April 7, for the 147 people killed in an attack on Garissa University College. Kenyan bishops are urging the government to step up security and for citizens to remain united after al-Shabab militants atta cked the college campus April 2.

Kenya cracks down on al-Shabab funding and recruitment after Garissa attack

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NAIROBI, Kenya - Faced with a fierce enemy driven by Muslim extremist ideology, the Kenyan government has cracked down on funding for al-Shabab, the Somali group that claimed responsibility for killing 148 mostly Christian students at Garissa University College a week ago.

On April 9, Pope Francis asked that God’s mercy help to heal past wounds and and help for countries to have reconciliation and peace as Armenian remember the 100th anniversary of the 1915 - 1918 genocide. In this photo, Pope Francis receives a skull cap as he arrives to lead his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 8.

Pope calls for hope, reconciliation as Armenia commemorates massacres

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VATICAN CITY - In the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Pope Francis decried humanity's ability to systematically exterminate its own brothers and sisters.

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