World News
NATO summit, protests provide some lessons for Catholic school students
CHICAGO (CNS) — With world leaders descending on Chicago for the May 20-21 NATO summit, some Catholic school teachers were incorporating lessons about the political-military alliance for their students. And with thousands of people coming to the city to demonstrate and draw attention to focus on issues ranging from war to the environment to poverty, […]
Mexican priest who helps migrants takes break after increased threats
MEXICO CITY (CNS) — A Mexican priest known for sheltering undocumented Central American migrants — and defying organized criminal groups and corrupt politicians — has withdrawn from his work temporarily due to threats, but says he will return. News of the threats came the same day officials in the northern state of Nuevo Leon found […]
Catholics ask world leaders to help determine Sudan-South Sudan border
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Saying civilian lives are at risk, Catholic leaders appealed to the international community to step up efforts to prevent full-scale war from erupting over disputed territory along the tenuous Sudan-South Sudan border. Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Adwok Kur of Khartoum, Sudan, said in an email to Catholic News Service that tensions between Sudan […]
Emotional moment: Havana seminarians had chance to meet pope
HAVANA (CNS) — Kenny Fernandez Delgado was 13 when Blessed John Paul II came to the tropical Cuban capital. His remembers little about the 1998 event other than arriving late for the Mass at Revolution Square with his mother and a brother. Today, Fernandez is in his first year of theology studies at the new […]
Pope bids warm farewell to Mexico, heads to Cuba
SILAO, Mexico (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI bade Mexico a warm “adios,” emphasizing he meant, “Remain with God,” concluding a trip marked by outpourings of faith and affection from people in the world’s second-most populous Catholic country. “I leave full of unforgettable experiences, not the least of which are the innumerable courtesies and signs of […]
Haitian, Dominican bishops create commission to help rebuild Haiti
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — Haitian and Dominican bishops said they will create a commission that will work to help reconstruct Haiti more than two years after a major earthquake destroyed the Caribbean nation. Several Catholic groups have been working on the ground toward reconstructing the country. The commission will differ in that it […]
Arms treaty need to protect poor, Vatican’s UN observer says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The unregulated sale and transfer of weapons and weapons’ technology harm the poor and threaten peace and security around the world, a Vatican official told a U.N. meeting. Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, addressed a committee preparing for the U.N. Conference on the […]
Forgotten massacre under way in Sudanese border region, says bishop
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Sudanese bishop said the world has forgotten people in his diocese, where thousands of people have sought shelter from a government bombing campaign and aid agencies cannot gain access. “There is an ongoing forgotten massacre on the Nuba Mountains” where “people are dying of starvation and bombings,” said Bishop Macram […]
Mexican Jesuit denounces raid on parish, human rights center
MEXICO CITY (CNS) — A Jesuit priest denounced a raid on his parish and human rights center, calling it yet another attempt to intimidate activists who have been critical of Mexican government excesses in the crackdown on organized crime. Jesuit Father Jose Castilla Plasencia, pastor of the St. Jude Thaddeus Parish and director of the […]
Pope calls on Syria to address citizens’ legitimate demands
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As a sectarian conflict in Syria intensified, Pope Benedict XVI called on all Syrians to begin a process of dialogue and reminded the government of its duty to recognize its citizens’ legitimate demands. In Beirut, the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church warned against toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, calling for […]