International News

LIMA, Peru -- Peruvian church leaders called for dialogue and an end to corruption amid a political crisis that erupted Sept. 30, when President Martin Vizcarra dissolved Congress and the legislature then voted to remove him from office.

OXFORD, England -- Germany's Catholic bishops are pressing ahead with a national reform consultation, or "synodal way," despite cautions from the Vatican and criticism from some bishops.

MANCHESTER, England -- Church leaders in Northern Ireland encouraged their political parties to quickly re-establish their self-governing institutions to stop the British government from imposing a liberal abortion law on the province.

NEW YORK -- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said Sept. 30 he was "grateful and relieved" by the report of a comprehensive independent review of archdiocesan compliance with the U.S. bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Child and Young People."

WASHINGTON -- The genocide conducted by the Islamic State against Christian communities in Iraq and Syria has turned into continued harassment by Iran-backed militias and shows no signs of abating soon.

MEXICO CITY -- Three new dioceses have been carved out of the Archdiocese of Mexico, a move Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City said will bring pastors "closer to the all the inhabitants."

UNITED NATIONS -- Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide, but hypocrisy, political correctness and ignorance prevent the international community from implementing a comprehensive response to pervasive violence against them, said speakers at a U.N. event Sept. 27.

GUATEMALA CITY -- Lawmakers in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca have approved a measure to decriminalize abortion, despite vocal church opposition.

SYDNEY -- The Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania have become the latest in the country to pass legislation criminalizing priests who fail to report the abuse of children disclosed during confession. The country's six states and two territories are all expected have such laws in place in coming months.

SAO PAULO -- Less than two weeks before the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon was scheduled to begin at the Vatican, the Brazilian bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council reported that the number of indigenous land invasions and indigenous murdered in Brazil in 2018 soared.