What is the difference between a traveller and a pilgrim?

Jacob Boodoo hadn’t set foot on a plane since he was two years old so boarding a flight to Europe during March break was already an adventure for the 16-year-old.

WARSAW, Poland – The Vatican secretary of state praised the Polish church's traditional closeness to Rome as key to its survival under hostile regimes, in a speech marking the centenary of the nation's conference of bishops and diplomatic ties with the Vatican.

VATICAN – Pope Francis will make a three-day apostolic visit to Romania in late May, the Vatican announced.

ROME – Migrants rescued from the Mediterranean were taken to shore in Malta Jan. 9 after being kept at sea while European nations argued over who was responsible for them.

An investigation by the Diocese of Hildesheim, Germany, is shedding new light on child sex abuse in Catholic children's homes in the country in the 1950s. A central figure in the inquiry is an esteemed and controversial figure, Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen, a former priest in Nazi-occupied Poland awarded Germany's highest federal decoration in 1966 for postwar charity work.

Canada has had a long tradition of welcoming refugees looking to escape persecution. One of the most seminal events in that history came in the fall of 1956, when Hungarians revolted against their Communist rulers. They were met with a massive show of force as Soviet tanks rolled through the streets of Budapest and crushed the revolt within days. In early November, thousands of Hungarians began fleeing to Austria. Canada reacted quickly, providing swift approval of refugee claims and within a month they began arriving. Eventually Canada gave asylum to about 37,500 Hungarians and lent support in their first year in Canada. The majority were Roman Catholic, so it’s no surprise the Church played an important role dealing with the new arrivals as this Register story from the Dec. 8, 1956 illustrates. 

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Electoral successes for the ultra-right across Europe is being accompanied by a frightening rise in attacks on Jews, while left wing parties give ethical cover to anti-Semites with constant criticism of Israel, Fr. Patrick Desbois said at an event hosted by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies at Toronto’s Glenn Gould Theatre Oct. 15.

WARSAW, Poland – German Catholic leaders condemned anti-immigrant riots in an eastern Germany town that erupted after a German man was killed in a brawl with migrants.

VATICAN – With the rising death toll of migrants and refugees attempting the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, Pope Francis urged world leaders to act to prevent further tragedy.

OXFORD, England – Spain's Catholic Church has voiced "deep concern" over plans by the new government to curb religious teaching and re-examine past accords with the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY – "Let us beg the Lord, God of mercy and peace, to free the world from this inhuman violence," Pope Francis prayed after a week of deadly terrorist attacks in Africa and Europe.

Senior high school students will spend a summer that’s less ordinary as they depart on a three-week whirlwind tour of Europe — a trip of a lifetime that also happens to be worth two high school credits.

PARIS, France – Catholic and Orthodox leaders in a joint statement urged Europeans to remember their Christian roots, and to return to them during this time of “widespread concern for (the) future” of Europe.

PARIS – When Americans demonstrated against President Trump’s recent entry ban against citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, marchers in London, Paris, Berlin and other European cities quickly joined in the protest. The message from across the Atlantic seemed to be “we’re with you.”