International News

COCHIN, India -- An Indian court sentenced former sacristan Johny Vattaparamban, 54, to life imprisonment for the 2018 murder of the rector of popular St. Thomas Shrine at Malayattoor, in southern Kerala state.

MUNICH -- In a newly published biography, Retired Pope Benedict XVI said the Catholic Church is threatened by a "worldwide dictatorship of seemingly humanist ideologies." He cited same-sex marriage, abortion and the "creation of humans in the laboratory" as examples.

OXFORD, England -- A top Polish historian has questioned claims by German researchers that newly opened Vatican archives contain information damning the role played by Pope Pius XII during World War II.

ROME -- While the Italian bishops and government officials continue negotiating a way to resume the public celebration of Masses, the government provided guidelines that permit the celebration of funerals beginning May 4.

VATICAN CITY -- The Church must “radically change” how priests interact with women, starting by injecting more female voices into priestly formation at seminaries, said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Dire predictions of a worldwide famine due to COVID-19 are already coming true, according to organizations in Africa and Asia that work with Canadian Church partners.

VATICAN CITY -- Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre, who led the Knights of Malta following a tumultuous period of internal tensions and rocky relations with the Vatican, died at the age of 75, the order announced.

MANCHESTER, England -- A vaccine produced with the help of cells derived from aborted fetuses could present an ethical dilemma for Catholics and others opposed to abortion, said a senior researcher from a Catholic bioethics institute.

MANCHESTER, England -- A Dutch cardinal predicted that the number of euthanasia cases will surge after the Netherlands’ highest court gave the green light to allow the killing of dementia patients who are no longer able to give consent.

HONG KONG -- Communist authorities in territory covered by the Anhui Diocese removed crosses from the top of two church buildings, sources told ucanews.com April 27. The sources said they fear more such actions.