World News
Fear and loathing: Rohingya crisis shows danger of identity politics
The situation of the Rohingya is an extreme example of what happens when one's ethnic or religious identity incites such strong fear or pride or that it creates ironclad categories of "us and them."
Defend God’s image by defending the Rohingya, pope urges
Each human being is created in the image and likeness of God, yet so often people desecrate that image with violence as seen in the treatment of Myanmar's Rohingya minority, Pope Francis said.
Pray for your priests, pope urges at Mass in Bangladesh
Ordaining 16 new priests in Bangladesh, Pope Francis kept to his practice of using the formal ritual homily for the occasion. But, as often happens, he also felt a need to speak more personally to the people before him.
New info closely dates site believed to be tomb of Christ
Scientists who helped restore a shrine above the site believed to be the place where Christ was buried say testing of samples has dated the tomb to at least the fourth century, the time when the Emperor Constantine ordered it protected.
Spanish cardinal says church teaching rejects national independence
"In democratically constituted nations, there can be no moral legitimacy for unilateral secession," Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera of Valencia said in a Nov. 29 commentary for the Madrid-based La Razon daily.
Church calls for calm in Honduras as election results are delayed
Delays in counting the votes and announcing the official results more than four days after the election risked undermining confidence in the process and damaging democracy in a country with a recent history of coups and political crises.
Vatican continues annual Christmas raffle for charity
Announcing the fifth annual raffle Nov. 30, the Vatican said tickets would be available for purchase online and in several areas accessible to the public, such as the Vatican Museums' bookshop and the Vatican post office or pharmacy.
Pope urges continued dialogue between Orthodox, Catholics
Pope Francis, in a message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, urged Catholics and Orthodox to continue the path of dialogue on key theological issues to achieve full communion between the two churches.
Pope arrives in Bangladesh, praises country’s welcome of Rohingya
Arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar Nov. 30, Pope Francis wasted no time in mentioning the plight of thousands of refugees, without referring to them as Rohingya, who have been a source of concern for him for more than two years.
Jesus maps the path to peace and reconciliation, pope says
Christ guides people past the everyday obstacles of fear and pride and allows them to find their way to a relationship with God and their neighbors, Pope Francis said at his first Mass in Myanmar attended by 150,000 people.