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News/International

Cynthia Gelder of Toronto looks over the baptismal area at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the place it is said that St. John baptized Jesus, about 30 miles west of Amman, Jordan.

Jordan welcomes throngs of tourists at site where believers say Jesus was baptized

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AMMAN, Jordan - For most Americans, Epiphany (Jan. 6) passes with little celebration.

Traditionally, the 12th day of Christmas is marked by Eastern Orthodox, Catholics and some mainline Protestants as the day the three kings visited the baby Jesus. For Eastern Rite Christians, Epiphany (also called Theophany) emphasizes the revelation of Jesus as the son of God through his baptism and the beginning of his public ministry. Thousands of believers make pilgrimage on that day to the Jordan River where John baptized Jesus.

The Tower of David in Jerusalem.

Jesus may have been tried here: Archaeologists uncover Herod's palace

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JERUSALEM - The site where Jesus may have been tried, prior to his crucifixion, is now open to the public for the very first time.

People walk on a highway as they arrive for Pope Francis' Mass attended by 250,000 people in Sibari, in Italy's region, June 21. During his homily, the pope said "mafiosi" are not in communion with God and are excommunicated. The Calabria region is home of the 'Ndrangheta crime organization, known for drug trafficking.

Mafia ‘betray the Gospel,’ Italian bishops say in rare rebuke

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ROME - Catholic bishops from the southern Italian region of Calabria have broken their silence and spoken out against the “inhumane” power of the Mafia that dominates their poverty-stricken area.

Children dressed as angels react as they attend Christmas Mass at a Catholic church Dec. 24.

Embrace, be amazed by God's great gift of children, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - Becoming a mother or father is a gift from God, but women and men have a duty to embrace that gift and be astonished by its beauty, Pope Francis said.

St. John Paul II sits with his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, in Rome's Rebibbia prison in this 1983 photo. Mehmet Ali Agca laid a bunch of white roses at St. John Paul II's tomb exactly 31 years after the late Pope forgave him for shooting and trying to assassinate him.

Man who tried to kill John Paul II takes flowers to his tomb

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VATICAN CITY - Exactly 31 years after St. John Paul II personally forgave him for shooting and trying to assassinate him, Mehmet Ali Agca returned to the Vatican with a bunch of white roses and laid them at the late pope's tomb.

Kidnapped priest found dead on Christmas in southern Mexico

Kidnapped priest found dead on Christmas in southern Mexico

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MEXICO CITY - A Catholic priest was kidnapped from a seminary and found murdered in Guerrero, the same state in southern Mexico where 43 students were kidnapped and probably killed in September.

An Iraqi Christian refugee girl holds a souvenir of the Holy Family Dec. 12 as a boy looks on at a church in Hazmiyeh, near Beirut.

As some Mideast countries empty of Christians, Lebanese numbers swell

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SED EL BOUSHRIEH, Lebanon - Aramaic, Syriac and different Arabic dialects from Iraq and eastern Syria can be heard on the narrow hilly streets of Sed El Boushrieh. Strings of Christmas lights adorn neighborhood churches and hang from balconies of apartments, whose residents many never return to their own homes in Iraq and Syria.

People gather in Manger Square and the Church of Nativity on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, West Bank.

Jesus' message resonates with Palestinians who seek justice, Abbas says

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JERUSALEM - Jesus' message of love and peace resonates among Palestinians seeking justice, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his Christmas message.

An artisan from Manos Amigas in Lima, Peru, creates an ornament that will be sold through fair trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages.

This Christmas, shop fair trade

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In Pope Benedict’s 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate, he wrote, “It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility, which goes hand-in-hand with the social responsibility of the enterprise.”

Souvenirs are displayed in early November in preparation for Pope Francis' Jan. 13-15 papal visit to Sri Lanka, at the Catholic Bookshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Church officials confirmed the visit will proceed as scheduled, despite its proximity to presidential elections.

Papal visit on schedule, say Sri Lankan church officials

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NEW DELHI - Sri Lankan church officials confirmed that Pope Francis' January trip to the country is on schedule, despite calls by Catholic clergy and organizations to postpone the visit because it is being politicized as the country prepares for a presidential election.

An elderly woman in a wheelchair is pushed near an improvised church in the area occupied by pro-democracy protesters in Mongkok shopping district in Hong Kong Oct. 30.

Hong Kong Christian leaders urge reconciliation at Christmas

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HONG KONG - Hong Kong Christian leaders urged reconciliation in their Christmas messages, issued within a week of the end of a 79-day protest.

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