World News
Australian pro-life leaders organize to block bill legalizing abortion
Thousands of pro-life supporters demonstrated in the streets of Sydney, expressing their opposition to a bill in the New South Wales state parliament that would permit abortion until birth for any reason.
Catholic pilgrims walking to Marian shrine attacked in India
Indian police arrested six suspected members of a hardline Hindu group for attacking 40 Catholics taking part in a 280-mile pilgrimage to a Marian shrine in Velankanni in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Schools try to curb migration from Guatemala with little success
Carlos Rene Osorio pitches parents in rural Guatemala on the value of keeping their kids in school, rather than migrating with them to the United States.
Hypocrisy of ‘spiritual tourism’ destroys the church, pope says
UPDATED - Christians who focus more on being superficially close to the church rather than care for their fellow brothers and sisters are like tourists who wander around aimlessly, Pope Francis said.
Appeals court upholds Cardinal Pell conviction on abuse charges
An Australian appeals court upheld the conviction of Cardinal Pell on five counts of sexually assaulting two choirboys more than two decades ago.
Prayers greet people attending so-called black mass in Canadian capital
About 200 people, most clutching a rosary, held a prayer vigil as a satanic black mass occurred Aug. 17 at a heavy metal club in the Canadian capital.
India expels Spanish nun, 86, who treated poor people for five decades
Sister Enedina, 86, a member of the Daughters of Charity, had her visa renewal refused Aug. 11 and was then told by the government she had 10 days to leave the country.
Investigation underway into cause for sainthood for martyrs of Burundi
The grisly murders of missionary priests and a local priest, a lay volunteer and 40 seminarians in Burundi are the focus of a recently opened investigation into their sainthood cause.
Pope applauds launch of abuse investigation center in Chile
A specialized center at Chile's premier Catholic university can help the Catholic Church protect minors and vulnerable persons from the scourge of clerical sexual abuse, which has plagued the Catholic Church in the country and around the world, Pope Francis said.
Congo’s church urges contributions from multinationals for development
Foreign companies working in mineral-rich Congo ought to contribute part of their profits to local development programs, said an official of the country's Catholic bishops' conference.