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“Approximately 1 in 7 Christians [more than 365 million people] are subject to significant levels of persecution on the basis of religious beliefs. The number of attacks against Christian churches and property increased significantly in 2023, with more Christians than ever suffering violent attacks,” said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin during his Sept. 28, 2024 address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Cardinal Parolin decries wars, abortion, gender ideology, and repression in UN address

Oct 1, 2024

By Andrés Henríquez

Cardinal Pietro Parolin denounced “an alarming increase in the number of conflicts around the world and the gravity of their... Read more

“With reference to gender, the Holy See understands the term to be grounded in the biological sexual identity that is male or female,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.

Vatican secretary of state calls out United Nations for promoting abortion, gender ideology

Sep 24, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

In an address to the U.N. “Summit of the Future” in New York, Cardinal Pietro Parolin voiced the Vatican’s disapproval... Read more

The United Nations logo is seen at U.N. headquarters in New York on Oct. 4, 2023.

Vatican again calls for a moratorium on killer robots

Aug 30, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva since 2023, spoke at a U.N.... Read more

Panelists speak at the event "Towards the Abolition of Surrogacy: Preventing the Exploitation and Commodification of Women and Children,” held by the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

Holy See convenes UN panel urging global abolition of surrogacy

Jun 19, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Panelists called for “increased awareness and concrete steps at the U.N. level to abolish surrogacy and uphold human dignity.” Read more

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 25, 2015.

Pope Francis may visit United States in September after UN invitation

Apr 25, 2024

By Andrea Gagliarducci

A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State told CNA this week that “a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General... Read more

Children sit together around a boy cooking instant noodles on a fire in a makeshift oven from a recycled barrel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 31, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas.

UNICEF director warns of looming ‘catastrophe’ in Gaza as water supplies dwindle

Oct 31, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The director warned this week of a looming humanitarian disaster in Gaza as clean drinking water supplies reportedly dwindle to... Read more

CNA

Pope calls for an end to global food waste

Sep 29, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Food waste, the pope said, “shows an arrogant disregard for everything that, in social and human terms, lies behind food... Read more

The United Nations General Assembly in New York.

UN adopts resolution to protect ‘reproductive rights’ during next pandemic

Sep 22, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The language, which was supported and endorsed by President Joe Biden’s administration earlier this year, prompted criticism from pro-life legislators. Read more

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan speaks during a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh at the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 21, 2023, in New York City. The security council held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘Destruction’ of ethnic Armenians is imminent, experts warn

Sep 21, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

On Wednesday, ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to lay down their arms and dissolve their military... Read more

The Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, which houses the meeting room of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

UN human rights council passes religious hatred resolution amid U.S., European opposition

Jul 12, 2023

By Daniel Payne

The resolution urges member states to more aggressively prosecute acts of religious-based antagonism.  Read more

Pope Francis greets Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, whom he appointed as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva on June 21, 2023.

Pope Francis appoints new permanent observer to the UN in Geneva

Jun 21, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero most recently served as the apostolic nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read more

Young people from around the world held hands in St. Peter's Square during the #NotAlone human fraternity event June 10, 2023.

UN Security Council discusses Pope Francis and imam’s human fraternity proposal

Jun 15, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The secretary-general told the council June 14 to look to the human fraternity declaration signed by the pope and grand... Read more

Bishop Rolando Álvarez of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

UN calls on Nicaragua to free Bishop Álvarez and other political prisoners

Mar 7, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the Nicaraguan dictatorship to release Bishop... Read more

Logos of WYD Lisbon 2023 and the 2030 Agenda.

Spanish bishop: Reference to UN’s Agenda 2030 on World Youth Day website was ‘a mistake’

Jan 31, 2023

By CNA Staff

The bishop of Orihuela-Alicante in Spain, José Ignacio Munilla, called the reference to the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 on the... Read more

The United Nations General Assembly in New York.

African nations stand alone against abortion rights, gender ideology at the UN 

Sep 16, 2022

By Edie Heipel

The resolution includes language stating that countries must provide “access to safe abortion” as a “human right.” Read more

Bishop José Álvarez Lagos is surrounded by police officers on Aug. 4, 2022. The bishop's detention was cited in a Sept. 13, 2022, U.N. human-rights report.

UN human rights report on Nicaragua cites ‘attacks on Catholic Church’

Sep 15, 2022

By Zelda Caldwell

The United Nations Human Rights Council released a report Sept. 13 that condemned the regime of Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega. Read more

Uyghur women work in a cloth factory in Hotan county, Xinjiang province, China.

UN: China’s mistreatment of the Uyghurs amounts to modern-day slavery

Aug 17, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

In recent years, China has detained Uyghurs in hundreds of “reeducation camps” and reportedly subjected them to torture and political... Read more

Pope Francis on Palm Sunday 2022 in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis joins UN chief’s appeal for Ukraine war Easter truce

Apr 21, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Eastern Orthodox churches and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will celebrate Easter on April 24 this year. Read more

Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience on April 6, 2022.

Pope Francis: We are witnessing the ‘impotence’ of the UN in the Ukraine war

Apr 6, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The pope made the comments during a reflection on his recent trip to Malta at his weekly general audience. Read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, speaks at a press conference in Rome, Sept. 28, 2017.

World needs action to back COVID vaccines and health care access, Cardinal Parolin tells UN

Sep 27, 2021

By Kevin J. Jones

The failure to provide health care access, testing, and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic deserves global scrutiny, Cardinal Pietro Parolin... Read more