World News

Some Hondurans seek church help to fight government changes to land

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has launched a new program, "The Time of the South Has Come," and declared the region -- once considered little more than a rocky, drought-prone outpost -- a new "development pole for Central America."

Catholic groups, undeterred by Paris attacks, to attend climate summit

"As far as I know, everyone who was planning to go is going. It is such an important issue, at such a critical moment, that we have all been working toward," said Chloe Schwabe, director of the faith-economy-ecology project at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.

Vatican orders five to stand trial in ‘VatiLeaks’ case

A Spanish monsignor working in the Vatican's finance office and two journalists who wrote books exposing alleged financial misdeeds, will be tried in a Vatican court with the leaking and publishing documents about Vatican finances.

Syriac patriarch says Western nations have betrayed Mideast Christians

The head of the Syriac Catholic Church has accused Western governments of betraying Christians in the Middle East and said it was "a big lie" to suggest Islamic State could be defeated with airstrikes.

Pope condemns Mali attacks, calls for acts of kindness in broken world

The pope's words came the same day he had a telegram sent to the people of Mali, expressing his condolences and spiritual closeness to those affected by the latest deadly attacks there.

Church must not worship ‘St. Payola,’ but God alone, pope says

Pope Francis decried the temptation for the church and individuals to become loyal to money and power, from which comes "a bit of fun" but no joy. "The battle inside each one of us" is to be "always with Jesus, always hanging on his words."

Palliative care home in Quebec to offer assisted suicide under new law

"When the patient's sufferings are soothed through proper medical care, end-of-life can be an outstanding opportunity to step back, to reflect on the meaning of life and to deepen our faith," said a Canadian archbishop.

Proclaim the Gospel, not the institution, pope says

A vibrant Catholic community cannot be built on "the relics of the bygone 'good old days,'" but must be modeled on Gospel-based evangelization, Pope Francis told a group of German bishops.

Church works to promote peace in Mexico’s violent Guerrero state

Father Adolfo Silva Pita celebrates a monthly memorial Mass for the deceased in a lower-middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of this tourist town, once famous for sun, fun and celebrities, but notorious now for drugs, crime and killings.

Priests must not forget their roots, pope says

Priests are not "mushrooms" that magically sprout at ordination, but they have a history, a community and a family that they must keep in mind, Pope Francis said. "Be pastors, not officials," he told a clergy conference in Rome.