News/International

Updated 04/24/13

VATICAN CITY - Acknowledging "conflicting reports" about two Orthodox archbishops kidnapped in Syria, Pope Francis prayed for them and for an end to the war in their country.

BOSTON - Even though "the culture of death looms large" today, the light of Christ the Good Shepherd "can expel the darkness and illuminate for us a path that leads to life, to a civilization of solidarity and love," said Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - There were more questions than answers about the April 15 terror attack on the Boston Marathon in the days following the bombings, even with the FBI's eventual identification of two suspects in the attack.

WASHINGTON - Students at Boston colleges in particular felt the impact of the April 15 Boston Marathon explosions and after the tragedy just down the street from many of these campuses, they gathered to pray for victims, raise funds to support their recovery, and simply to talk and share their grief and disbelief.

WEST, Texas - Emergency personnel were carefully combing through blocks of wreckage in this town of 2,900 a day after a chemical fertilizer factory caught fire and exploded with the force of a small earthquake April 17, injuring perhaps hundreds and killing others.

ISEYIN, Nigeria - Several Catholic bishops warned the Nigerian government to be wary of the consequences of granting amnesty to Boko Haram, a sect that wants to impose strict Islamic law, and at least one said Mass attendance had dropped because the Islamist sect often targeted churches with bombs.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for prayers for the victims of a deadly explosion in Texas.

VATICAN CITY - Unless western nations immediately find ways to bring peace to Syria instead of debating whether to arm opposition forces, the country will continue to be in turmoil and a victim of the West's indecision, said a Syrian patriarch.

Updated 04/18/13

BOSTON - The first name released of someone killed in the April 15 explosions at the Boston Marathon was that of eight-year-old Martin Richard, whose picture in newspapers showed him grinning broadly, apparently at his first Communion.

VATICAN CITY - The eight cardinals named by Pope Francis to begin work on ways to reorganize the Roman Curia are predominantly active archbishops of very large archdioceses, but they also have a wide range of pastoral and organizational experiences and skills.