World News

Court approves house arrest for Australian archbishop

Archbishop Philip Wilson was found guilty of failing to report child sexual abuse allegations in the 1970s. He was sentenced to one year's detention, but with the possibility of parole after six months.

Abuse in Ireland: Pressure mounts for pope to address scandal

Pope Francis is traveling to Ireland specifically for the World Meeting of Families, but the sex abuse crisis is dominating headlines before his Aug. 25-26 trip.

After Rwanda closes churches, bishops urge protection of religious rights

The Rwandan bishops' conference urged steps be taken to ensure religious freedom after the government closed thousands of churches.

South Sudanese refugees in dire need of aid in northern Uganda

Hundreds of refugees from the South Sudan still are seeking asylum in neighboring Uganda despite a peace accord signed by opposing factions in their homeland.

Spanish Jesuit murdered in Peru held up as ‘exemplary’

A Spanish Jesuit priest who was found murdered in the boarding school where he lived was buried Aug. 12 in Chiriaco, in the Apostolic Vicariate of Jaen in Peru's northern Amazon region.

Filipinos welcome U.S. vow to return historic Catholic church bells

Filipinos welcomed an announcement by the United States that it planned to soon return church bells seized by American troops as trophies during the Philippine-American War more than a century ago.

Myanmar cardinal backs pope’s opposition to death penalty

The Catholic Church should never compromise its fundamental belief in the right to life, including on the issue of capital punishment, Cardinal Bo said in a statement.

Chaldean Catholic synod offers thanks for return of displaced Christians

The Chaldean Catholic Church concluded a weeklong synod in Baghdad offering thanks to God for the return of numerous displaced Christians to their hometowns in the Ninevah Plain.

British Columbia residents ‘broken’ as wildfire destroys homes, church

Bishop Hector Vila said all residents were evacuated safely, but many structures, including buildings at St. Theresa Mission, were destroyed in the blaze.

Sexual abuse by monks covered up at schools in England, inquiry finds

The "appalling sexual abuse" of children as young as 7 was covered up in two leading Benedictine-run schools in England to protect the reputations of predatory monks, a government-backed investigation concluded.