Pope Francis voiced concern over a recent Russian troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and called for efforts to ease tensions in the 7-year conflict.
International News
Majority of World’s Population Lives in Countries That Violate Religious Freedom, Report Says
The 2021 Religious Freedom Report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) found that around 5.2 billion people live in countries where there are grave violations of religious freedom, including three of the world’s most populous countries: China, India, and Pakistan.
Missionary Calls Sentenced Hong Kong Activists ‘Prophets For Our Days’
A longtime missionary in Hong Kong has praised the pro-democracy activists who received jail sentences last week for their vocal opposition to the city’s new national security law.
Saying He Missed People, Pope Francis Returns to Window for Sunday Prayer
Greeting visitors in St. Peter’s Square after nearly a month of tight restrictions due to the pandemic, Pope Francis said he was happy to see people allowed to gather and be present for Sunday noonday prayer.
Vatican Begins Criminal Trial for Man Accused of Shoplifting
The Vatican’s criminal tribunal held a hearing for the crime of shoplifting from one of the storage areas in the small city-state, with the defendant denying culpability due to his psychological state at the time.
Sponsor a Gargoyle: New Fundraiser Launched for Notre Dame in Paris
A novel fundraising approach to restore one of the most iconic monuments in the world, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, enables donors to have a piece of history. On April 15, Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris unveiled an interactive website that allows people to donate by adopting or sponsoring pieces of precious art and artifacts that were damaged in a 2019 fire.
God is Alive and Working in Iraq, Pope Francis Says to Patriarch
Pope Francis has sent a letter to Iraqi Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako voicing thanks for his visit to Iraq last month and praising the local church for its charitable activities and its role in working to rebuild the country.
Mozambique Islamist Insurgency Causing ‘Truly Indescribable’ Horror
Mozambique is experiencing a growing insurgency that is causing “truly indescribable” horror, according to a leading Catholic charity.
Cardinal Unveils Major Vatican Conference on Priesthood Slated for 2022
Increasing vocations to the priesthood, improving the way laypeople and priests work together and ensuring that service, not power, motivates the request for ordination are all possible outcomes of a major symposium being planned by the Vatican in February 2022.
Sharing Goods Not Communism But ‘Pure Christianity,’ Pope Francis Says
Pope Francis on Sunday, April 11, argued that having received mercy, Jesus’ apostles became merciful themselves, sharing ownership over everything, calling such an arrangement “not communism, but pure Christianity.”