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News/International

A massive tornado approaches the town of Moore, Okla., May 20. The mile-wide tornado touched down near Oklahoma City, killing at least 91 people, including 20 children, destroying homes, businesses and a pair of elementary schools in the suburb of Moore.

Pope prays for victims of Oklahoma tornado

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VATICAN CITY - As the death toll rose from the massive tornado that struck near Oklahoma City May 20, Pope Francis offered a special prayer for the victims during his early morning Mass May 21 and later offered his condolences through his Twitter account.

Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad May 20. The patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church denounced a recent series of car bombings and shootings in Iraqi cities that left at least 54 people dead and dozens more injured.

Mideast Christians in dire straits

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JERUSALEM - Extremism in Syria and Iraq is growing and could jeopardize the safety of all Christians, warned Church leaders in the region.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is shown in a courtroom artist sketch during his sentencing at Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia May 15. Gosnell was sent to prison to serve three life terms without parole for murdering babies during late-term abortions and for other crimes at his squalid clinic. In a deal that spared him from the death penalty, Gosnell faced a judge in a two-day sentencing after waiving his right to appeal his conviction on three counts of first-degree murder.

Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murder

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PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia jury May 13 found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty of murder in the deaths of three babies born alive during abortions and acquitted him of a fourth similar charge. He also was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death by a drug overdose of a patient who had an abortion.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria during a 2008 pastoral visit to Cagliari, Sardinia. Pope Francis has announced he will visit the Marian shrine in September.

Marian statue connects Pope's native city of Buenos Aires with Sardinia

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' native city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has a centuries-old connection with the Italian island city of Cagliari, Sardinia.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, pictured at a desk in a picture dated Feb. 26, 2013.

Vatican tells Cardinal O'Brien to leave Scotland for period of prayer, penance

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VATICAN CITY - Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct, will leave Scotland "for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance," the Vatican said.

The Institute for the Works of Religion, popularly known as the Vatican bank, is seen in a 2009 photo.

Vatican bank to publish annual report, launch website

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VATICAN CITY - As part of ongoing efforts to promote transparency and chip away at the myths surrounding what is commonly called the Vatican bank, its new president announced it will have a website by the end of the year and will publish its annual report.

Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison for crimes carried out in 1982, when he allegedly initiated a policy of extermination of Mayans for their ties to Marxist guerrillas.

Church silent after ex-Guatemalan dictator found guilty of genocide

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GUATEMALA CITY - Church officials in Guatemala did not comment in the days after a former dictator, Gen. Efrain Rios Montt, was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Asia, Africa lead growth in worldwide Church

Asia, Africa lead growth in worldwide Church

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VATICAN CITY - The number of Catholics in the world and the number of bishops, priests, religious men and seminarians all increased  in 2011, while the number of women in religious orders continued to decline, according to Vatican statistics.

Tens of thousands of pro-life demonstrators take part in the third annual national March for Life in Rome May 12. Joining the demonstration were U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke and U.S. pro-life leaders.

Pope greets 30,000 marchers in pro-life walk

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VATICAN CITY - Tens of thousands of demonstrators joined peacefully in Italy's third annual March for Life May 12, which ended with a personal greeting from Pope Francis.

Pope Francis kisses the relics of St. Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, also known as "Madre Lupita," the Mexican co-founder of the Handmaids of St. Margaret Mary and the Poor, during her canonization Mass at the Vatican May 12.

Pope warns comfortable living causes 'gentrification of the heart'

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis warned against "gentrification of the heart" as a consequence of comfortable living, and called on the faithful to "touch the flesh of Christ" by caring for the needy.

Franciscan Sister Florence Deacon (center), president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, is joined by Sister Carol Zinn (left), a Sister of St. Joseph, and past president Franciscan Sister Pat Farre ll in a file photo marked Aug 10, 2012. A statement issued by the Vatican May 7 said the doctrinal congregation and the congregation for religious "have for some time been collaborating on a renewed theological vision of religious life in the church."

Vatican says its congregations collaborate, including on LCWR decision

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VATICAN CITY - Two days after the head of the Vatican office overseeing religious life said he had not been consulted by the Vatican's doctrinal office about a controversial investigation of American nuns, the two bodies affirmed their "common commitment" to reform of the U.S.-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

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