World News
Bishops urge Central African Republic leaders to face challenges in 2020
During a Jan. 6-12 plenary, the conference called for "free, transparent elections" and "peaceful solutions" in the conflict-torn nation.
Comboni Sisters in West Bank build bridges amid walls
From a convent along Israel's separation wall, the community works to heal divisions between Palestinians and Israelis, while also ministering to vulnerable Bedouin and Eritrean populations in the area.
Rome-brokered peace deal increases chances of papal visit to South Sudan
The agreement, signed in Rome Jan. 13, included additional opposition leaders, raising hopes that both Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby will make a long-desired trip to the African nation.
Panel to call for more lay control in Australian church
The plan would see professionals manage church financial, human resources and governance functions, following hundreds of clerical sexual abuse cases and millions of dollars paid in settlements.
Quebec to take ethics, religious culture out of school curriculum
Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said there's still "too much" religion in schools, but experts fear students will be left unprepared for a world where "80% of humanity claims to have a religious tradition."
Canadian communities recall friends, relatives killed in Tehran crash
Victims of the Jan. 8 tragedy, the result of a mistaken missile attack by Iranian military, included dozens of Canadians, several of whom had ties to Catholic schools and outreaches.
Vatican wartime archives ready for new batch of scholars
More than 80 researchers have received permission to sift through materials dating from 1939 to 1958, with archive officials expecting a clearer view of how Pope Pius XII grappled with Nazism, the Holocaust and the church in the modern world.
Pope appoints first woman to Vatican foreign ministry post
In a Jan. 15 announcement, Francesca Di Giovanni, a longtime Vatican official, was named an undersecretary in the Vatican's foreign ministry office, where she will oversee intergovernmental organizations and multilateral treaties.
Pope names bishops for Ukrainian dioceses in England, Australia
According to a Jan. 15 Vatican announcement, Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski and Redemptorist Father Mykola Bychok will now lead the London and Melbourne Ukrainian Catholic dioceses respectively.
Kenyans urged to beat pans, blow whistles to fight locusts
As swarms of locusts advance in Kenya, Catholic leaders condemned ineffective government action and urged local communities to use all means to fight the destructive insects -- even cooking them.