International News

HONG KONG -- A bishop is calling on the Hong Kong government to set up an independent inquiry into the death of a student during the latest pro-democracy riots.

MEXICO CITY -- Bolivia's bishops called for calm after the country's president resigned suddenly in the face of swelling street protests over accusations of electoral fraud. They also insisted the departure of President Evo Morales "is not a coup," even though the military had urged him to step aside.

MANCHESTER -- Catholic priests would die rather than break the seal of confession to report child abusers to the police, said an English cardinal.

WASHINGTON -- Catholic leaders joined more than 35 other groups that have filed  briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, known as DACA.

Canadian Josianne Gauthier is General Secretary of CIDSE, an international network  of Catholic social justice organizations, and was one of the delegates to last month’s Synod on Pan-Amazon Region. Here is what she told the Synod in an address:

BRUSSELS -- Catholic bishops from the European Union marked 30 years since the breaching of the Berlin Wall with tributes to those who worked for peaceful change, as well as warnings against resurgent "ideologies behind the building of walls."

BEIRUT -- Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are hitting the streets across the country to demand an end to rampant corruption and poor public services. Cutting across sectarian lines, they also want the current government of entrenched politicians dating back to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war era to step down.

BANGKOK -- When Pope Francis celebrates Mass in a Bangkok sports stadium Nov. 21, tens of thousands of Catholics from across Thailand will congregate to celebrate with him.

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- The Bolivian bishops called on politicians in the South American country to respect the will of the people and review the results of the recent election that gave President Evo Morales a fourth consecutive term.

HONG KONG -- Weeks after the first anniversary of the deal between the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China on the appointment of bishops — the first formal agreement between the two countries since the 1950s — Beijing promulgated a fresh batch of regulations governing places of worship.