News/International
Jesuits tell their alumni in Congress: Protect border children
By David Gibson, Religion News ServiceAmerican Jesuits are pushing members of Congress who were educated at the Catholic order’s schools to pass aid for thousands of refugee children who have surged across the border in Texas in recent months, calling proposals to swiftly deport them “inhumane and an insult to American values.”
AIDS activists praise progress, warn about lingering danger of HIV
By Paul Jeffrey, Catholic News ServiceMELBOURNE, Australia - Catholic AIDS activists said they are encouraged by the steady progress being made against HIV, but warned against complacency.
Meriam Ibrahim leaves Italy for new life in New Hampshire
By Josephine McKenna, Religion News ServiceROME - Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith and then spared after an international campaign, left Italy on July 31 on a flight for the United States, where she plans to build a new life.
In Jerusalem hospital, staff and family help Gaza trauma patients
By Judith Sudilovsky, Catholic News ServiceJERUSALEM - Since the death of his wife in an Israeli missile attack on their house in the Gaza Strip in late July, George Ayyad, 75, has been keeping vigil over his son Jeries, 31.
Vatican removes priest in Paraguay accused of sex abuse in U.S.
By Josephine McKenna, Religion News ServiceVATICAN CITY - The Vatican has ordered a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Paraguay to remove a priest accused of sex abuse in the United States and to restrict the activities of the bishop who hired him.
Poll: More Italians support abortion rights than cosmetic surgery
By Josephine McKenna, Religion News ServiceROME - As the Catholic Church wrestles with changing community attitudes on key social issues, a new Italian survey finds more support for abortion, gay rights and euthanasia than for cosmetic surgery.
Ukraine crisis shows the danger of manipulating truth, chaplain says
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News ServiceROME - Propaganda and fear were the sparks that ignited the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has become a real war, said a Jesuit military chaplain.
Even with airstrike warnings, Gaza parish staff have nowhere to go
By Judith Sudilovsky, Catholic News ServiceJERUSALEM - When the staff at the lone Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip received text warnings to evacuate the premises, they had nowhere to go.
Number of people displaced because of faith skyrockets in 2013
By Catholic News ServiceWASHINGTON - The displacement of people around the globe because of their religious beliefs in 2013 rose to levels unseen in years, the State Department reported.
Iraqi Christians brave heat to demand help from United Nations
By Simon Caldwell, Catholic News ServiceMANCHESTER, England - Iraqi Christian refugees braved temperatures as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit to demand that the United Nations intervene to protect them from persecution by Islamist militants.
Ground Zero cross can stay at 9/11 museum, appeals court rules
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Religion News ServiceNEW YORK - A cross-shaped beam from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre can remain on display in the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, dismissing a lawsuit brought by atheists.