World News
No one can pretend not to know Syrians, Iraqis are suffering, pope says
Millions of Iraqis and Syrians are facing poverty and even death, neighboring countries are bearing more than their fair share of the burden of helping refugees, arms dealers are getting richer and the international community seems helpless, Pope Francis said.
Pope says he is ‘a bit feminist,’ thanks women religious for hard work
"The church thanks you for this, it is a beautiful witness. This is being close. Be close! Close to people's problems, real problems," he said during an audience Sept. 17 with young consecrated women and men from around the world, including Iraq and Syria.
Pope, Council of Cardinals discuss how bishops are chosen
Pope Francis has asked his international Council of Cardinals to study the way the church vets, identifies and appoints bishops around the world, looking particularly at the qualities needed in a bishop today.
‘Complex’ trip to Cuba, U.S. will be pope’s longest, spokesman says
Briefing reporters about the trip, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the plans were "enriched" after Pope Francis agreed to go to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and, particularly, after the United States and Cuba announced they were moving toward normalizing diplomatic relations.
Pope visits Cuba amid increasing support for end to U.S. embargo
U.S. President Barack Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro and the Vatican have called for a lifting of the embargo, which was first put in place in 1960 and repeatedly strengthened in the years since in response to growing strains between the countries.
Encyclical unites religious, nonreligious voices on climate change
Thousands of people inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment planned to rally on the Mall the morning that the pope addresses Congress hoping he will acknowledge their work on climate change.
Amid refugee crisis, church agencies on the ground and offering homes
The tens of thousands of would-be Syrian refugees who have flooded European countries this summer have prompted U.S. and international Catholic agencies to respond with both on-the-ground support and longer-term preparations to host them in the United States.
Prominent Chinese Catholics warn against overreaction to cross removals
"Whatever those in power do, their first question now is how they can best serve their own interests, rather than socialism or any common purpose," Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, told the ninth European Catholic China Colloquium in mid-September.
Church beatifies South African teacher killed for resisting witchcraft
Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, said during the beatification Mass that Blessed Daswa "gave historic witness to the Gospel, even to the shedding of blood" and that "from now on will be called 'blessed.'"
Pope has high hopes for his ‘mission’ to Cuba-U.S., asks for prayers
He said while the main purpose of his 10th apostolic journey abroad, Sept. 19-28, was to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, he also highlighted his planned visit to the United Nations in New York as it marked its 70th anniversary.