World News
Chinese authorities continue campaign, remove cross from Catholic church
Workers surprised parishioners by removing a Catholic church's cross before dawn Feb. 25. The Chinese government has taken down some 1,700 crosses from Protestant and Catholic churches since 2013.
Pope calls for ‘integration’ of divorced into church life
Recent remarks by Pope Francis suggest he believes reconciliation of divorced Catholics with the church and reception of the sacraments remains a possibility. A decision is expected perhaps by March 19.
Disease and cold add to suffering of refugees from Mozambique
An increasing number of Mozambicans, about 6,500 each day, are arriving at a makeshift camp in Malawi to escape violence at home, including summary executions and sexual violence, said a church worker.
In rural Kenya, Loreto sister creates Christian rite of passage for girls
With help of a religious sister, 80 Kenyan girls announced to their families and the world that they would refuse genital mutilation as a traditional transition to womanhood. The U.N. wants to end the practice by 2030.
After oil spill, nuns wonder where students will bathe and play
An oil pipeline break in Peru fouled the river where students of a Catholic boarding school bathe and wash their clothes. It's the 20th pipeline spill in five years in a once-rich fishing area where few now buy fish.
‘24 Hours for the Lord’ calls for all churches to stay open March 4-5
Responding to Pope Francis' initiative to focus on the mercy of God, Catholic churches around the world will offer eucharistic adoration and confessions for 24 hours. See details and a map of participating parishes in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Quebec sexual abuse victims settle class action for $21.6 million
About 150 former pupils and boarders of the former Montreal Institute for the Deaf who were sexually abused between 1940 and 1982 will share US$21.6 million after their class action was settled.
Use wealth, power for common good, not to exploit others, pope says
When power loses that sense of service, it "turns into arrogance and becomes control and subjugation," he said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square Feb. 24.
Ministry in Aleppo is about keeping hope alive, priests say
Even in the midst of constant bombing, Jesuit and Salesian priests remain in war-torn Aleppo, Syria, trying to create a sense of normalcy for those unable to leave.
Bishops want Nigeria to invest in small businesses to boost economy
Such investments would end up strengthening local enterprises, allowing more people to access the basic necessities of life, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria said Feb. 19 at the end of its weeklong meeting in Abuja.