Bishops call attack on Nigerian parish 'barbarous'

Oct 29, 2012 - 12:40 pm .- A suicide bombing of a Catholic church in northern Nigeria on Oct. 28 has been denounced as cowardly by Archbishop Matthew M. Ndagoso of Kaduna.

Catholic bishop supports girl shot by Taliban

Oct 11, 2012 - 09:10 am .- A Catholic bishop in Pakistan has voiced “sympathy and solidarity” towards Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old Muslim activist critically injured by Taliban gunmen who said they shot her for her advocacy of girls’ education and Western culture.

Moroccan navy prevents Dutch abortion ship from entering waters

Oct 8, 2012 - 04:06 pm .- Moroccan officials ordered a Dutch ship that provides abortions to leave its territorial waters after the vessel attempted to approach the country's port of Smir.

Anti-Christian graffiti hits Franciscan convent in Jerusalem

Oct 2, 2012 - 04:35 pm .- Vandals sprayed graffiti insulting to Jesus on the walls of a Franciscan convent on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, echoing a similar attack last month and drawing renewed condemnation from Catholic leaders.

US bishops offer condolences, support after Nigeria church bombing

Sep 28, 2012 - 02:08 am .- Leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offered their support to the Church in Nigeria after a suicide car bomber attacked a cathedral in the northern region of the country.

Pope: Lebanon can be beacon of religious co-existence

Sep 16, 2012 - 01:30 pm .- At his departure from Lebanon, Pope Benedict XVI said the religious co-existence the people of Lebanon showed during his three-day apostolic visit can become an inspiration and model for the rest of the Middle East.

In Lebanon, Pope calls for end to Syria conflict

Sep 16, 2012 - 12:21 pm .- Pope Benedict XVI has placed the Middle East under the “maternal protection” of Our Lady and has asked her to help bring peace to war-torn Syria and the entire region.

Pope asks Christians to be servants of peace

Sep 16, 2012 - 11:10 am .- Pope Benedict XVI told an open-air Mass in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that the Christians of the Middle East must be peacemakers in the often troubled region.

Pope calls Lebanese youth to 'revolution of love'

Sep 15, 2012 - 04:10 pm .- Pope Benedict XVI has challenged young Christians and Muslims in the Middle East to reject the path of violence and hate and instead unleash a “revolution of love.”

Pope encourages culture of peace in Lebanon

Sep 15, 2012 - 12:53 pm .- In a speech to Lebanese leaders on Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI called for the strengthening of a “culture of peace” that is built upon respect for life, the family and religious liberty.

Benedict XVI: fundamentalism a 'falsification' of religion

Sep 14, 2012 - 05:07 pm .- Pope Benedict described fundamentalism as “a falsification of religion,” which goes against its true purpose as “an invitation to share God’s peace throughout the world.”

Pope signs momentous document on Church in the Middle East

Sep 14, 2012 - 02:05 pm .- Pope Benedict XVI has signed his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East, “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente,” during the first day of his visit to Lebanon.

Pope Benedict arrives in Lebanon as 'pilgrim of peace'

Sep 14, 2012 - 08:30 am .- Pope Benedict XVI says he is arriving in the Middle East with a message of peace as he begins a 3-day Apostolic Visit to Lebanon.

Pakistani teen released on bail in blasphemy case

Sep 10, 2012 - 01:33 pm .- A 14-year-old Christian girl with Down's syndrome who has been held on suspicion of burning pages of the Quran was released on bail Saturday, Sept. 8.

Caritas increases aid as refugees flood out of Syria

Sep 9, 2012 - 04:40 pm .- Caritas Internationalis is ramping up its efforts to help the growing number of Syrian families who have fled the conflict in their homeland.

Iraqi archbishop: make Christian survival focus of papal meeting

Sep 7, 2012 - 04:01 am .- Iraqi Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk has asked the Catholic patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East to speak with Pope Benedict XVI about their fears that the survival of Christianity in the region is at risk.

Pope calls on lay Africans to evangelize their continent

Sep 7, 2012 - 02:30 am .- Pope Benedict XVI has called upon lay Catholics to evangelize Africa, the “continent of hope.”

Exiled Jesuit priest still hopeful for Syria's future

Sep 6, 2012 - 01:12 pm .- The Italian Jesuit who was exiled from Syria after criticizing President Bashar al-Assad says he is still hopeful for the country’s future despite its descent into war.

Vandals hit Catholic monastery in Holy Land with fire and graffiti

Sep 5, 2012 - 03:44 pm .- Vandals set fire to the door of the Latroun Monastery near Jerusalem on the morning of Sept. 4 and spray painted the walls with blasphemous phrases in Hebrew.

Imam allegedly faked evidence in Pakistan blasphemy case

Sep 5, 2012 - 02:07 am .- Several witnesses have charged that a Muslim cleric fabricated evidence against a Down syndrome Christian girl accused of violating Pakistan’s strict blasphemy law.