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News/International

People pose to take pictures with the popemobile in front of Gemelli Hospital in Rome June 27. Pope Francis will ride in a “accessible” popemobile that will not be bulletproof and will have a roof when he visits the Philippines from Jan. 15-19 next year.

Pope to ride in open vehicles during trip to Philippines

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MANILA, Philippines - Philippine church officials said the pope will be riding in open vehicles during his five-day visit in January.

Members of the public look at thousands of floral tributes placed Dec. 16 near the Sydney cafewhere hostages were held for more than 16 hours. An Irish priest based in Sydney said he was amazed at how many people turned to prayer during the deadly siege.

Darkness of Sydney siege cannot overcome Christ's light, archbishop says

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SYDNEY - Hell has touched Sydney, but the darkness let loose on a terrorized city cannot overcome the light of Christ, the city's archbishop said at a special Dec. 16 Mass after a lone gunman took 17 people hostage in a cafe, killing two before being shot by police.

A man carries a student released from a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, after the Dec. 16 Taliban attack on the Army Public School.

Pakistani Catholic official calls attack on school 'barbaric, inhuman'

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NEW DELHI - The Catholic Church in Pakistan has joined the chorus of condemnation of the deadly attack by Taliban on an army school in Peshawar that has left at least 126 children and others dead and 250 injured.

A Liberian woman prays for the end of Ebola outside Monrovia, Liberia, Oct. 31. Catholic Relief Services committed $1.5 million to its pre-existing programs in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, the three West African countries affected by widespread tran smission of the Ebola virus. The money is being used several ways, including to train heath workers, ensure safe and dignified burials, and maintain local Catholic-run health care facilities.

Sierra Leone bans Christmas, New Year’s celebrations to prevent spread of Ebola

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NAIROBI, Kenya - The government of Sierra Leone banned public Christmas and New Year’s celebrations because they may exacerbate efforts to eradicate the Ebola virus.

A woman holds a baby Aug. 18 at a temporary tent camp set up for Ukrainian refugees near the Russian-Ukrainian border. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated Aug. 15 that 155,800 Ukrainians had been displaced by fighting, more than 2,000 people had been killed since mid-April and another 5,000 had been injured.

Lithuanian archbishop worried Russia will move against Baltic states

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WARSAW, Poland - A top Baltic church leader voiced concern about possible Russian aggression against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and appealed to Western Catholics to be better informed about the situation.

An Advent wreath is pictured in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Dec. 15.

Count down to Christmas by counting your blessings, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - No saint was ever known for having a "funeral face," Pope Francis said; the joy of knowing one is loved by God and saved by Christ must be seen at least in a sense of peace, if not a smile.

Celebrating the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, Dec. 14, Pope Francis paid an evening visit to Rome's St. Joseph parish, meeting with the sick, with a group of Gypsies, with a First Communion class and with dozens of couples whose newborn babies were baptized in the past year.

German Cardinal Walter Kasper (left), retired president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, talks with Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as they leave the morning session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican Oct. 9.

Prayer, studying lived reality is key to pope's process, cardinal says

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ROME - Pope Francis' decision to hold two synods of bishops on the family with a year of consultation and reflection in between fits in exactly with this theological approach to pastoral planning, which emphasizes studying the reality, reflecting on it and, only later, taking action, said retired German Cardinal Walter Kasper.

Snowflakes float over part of a memorial for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, the first anniversary where 20 children and six adults were killed by gunman Adam Lanza. After repeatedly facing roadblocks in Congress, faith leaders and grass-roots groups have found success at the state level in seeking passage of gun violence prevention laws.

Mom who lost son in Sandy Hook massacre urges people to 'let love lead'

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DUBUQUE, Iowa - Nicole Hockley's message from Newtown, Connecticut, to people at two different venues in the Dubuque area was clear: "Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not."

Catholic Filipino worshipers and members of the choir sing during Mass at St. Joseph Church in Beirut Dec. 7. The Philippine government said that in 2013, more than 1.8 million Filipinos were employed in other countries, including about 30,000 in Lebanon.

Filipinos in Lebanon work, sacrifice to support families at home

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BEIRUT - She wakes up before the rest of the family, prepares their breakfast and begins a long day of cleaning the house, washing clothes, cooking and taking care of the children.

Yet she's always thinking of her own family some 8,000 kilometres away.

From left to right, Leena, Anniesa, Nissar, Sarah, Kubra, Issar, and Miriam Hussain, a Christian family who have been threatened with death for converting from Islam in West Yorkshire, England.

Fleeing persecution, Christian converts find safe houses in England

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CANTERBURY, England - As a 17-year-old convert to Christianity living in Pakistan, Ali (not his real name) was stabbed in the chest and left for dead by Muslims upset he had rejected their faith.

Children carry flags of American nations during a Mass marking the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 12. The Mass was celebrated by Pope Francis.

Pope praises Our Lady of Guadalupe as great missionary of 'our America'

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VATICAN CITY - Preceded by a procession of flags from the nations of the Americas and the recitation of the rosary in Spanish, Pope Francis and thousands of Catholics from across the Atlantic celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Vatican.

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