International News

Mexico's Catholic clergy have called for a truce on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and on Christmas Day as criminal violence wracks swaths of the country and clergy working in conflictive regions come under threat.

Gunfire and shouts of jubilation echoed through the streets of Damascus, Syria’s capital, as rebel forces opposed to Bashar Assad’s government took control of the city on Dec. 7. But Christians in Syria are not ready to join the victory dance.

The head of the U.S. Catholic bishops' international justice committee is calling on nations to help Syria after the Dec. 8 fall of the Assad dictatorship in a lightning rebel offensive.

A Sister of Charity in northern Italy was placed under house arrest after a nearly four-month investigation by prosecutors revealed she allegedly used her prison ministry to connect local mafia bosses with inmates.

Chilling rain and the "City of Lights" completely locked down due to high profile guests did not stop the crowds from arriving as close to Notre Dame Cathedral as possible for its inaugural Mass celebrated Dec. 8. The beloved Paris icon also opened its doors to the public for the first time after the devastating fire in 2019, with the second Mass that Sunday for Parisians and tourists.

The world was left stunned when the first images of the rebuilt Notre Dame were published and spread with viral speed as President Emmanuel Macron walked through the bright, unrecognizably beautiful Parisian cathedral on Nov. 29, a week ahead of the Dec. 7-8 official reopening.

Catholic bishops in England have decried a vote for assisted suicide, with one saying it represented a "dark day" in the history of the country.

Clergy in Belarus are deleting their social media profiles to avoid arrest, according to Church sources, as local parishes face pressure under a new religious law.

A tour of a relic of St. Jude conducted by Father Carlos Martins, a priest of the Companions of the Cross religious community known for hosting "The Exorcist Files" podcast, was halted Nov. 21 following an alleged "incident" involving students, according to a statement from Queen of Apostles Church in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and from the diocese. The priest has been temporarily suspended from ministry pending an ongoing police investigation.

The "arrogance" of the invaders attacking Ukraine and Palestine blocks the dialogue necessary to build peace in those countries, Pope Francis said.