World & Vatican

MEXICO CITY - The church has approved Blessed Anacleto González Flores, a martyr of the "Cristero War" in the 1920s and known as Mexico's Ghandi, as Patron of the Mexican Laity.

NEW DELHI, India - The Indian government has refused to renew the visa of an elderly Spanish nun who had worked for the country’s poor for five decades.

The Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam are together asking that all dioceses and congregations around the country celebrate special Masses and Eucharist adoration on Aug. 22 to mark International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. ​​​​​​​

Closure of 55 schools for teaching 'subversive ideologies' is victimizing children, activists say. Kerlan Fanagel, secretary-general of the Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Mindanao, said it is "not the schools" that teach students to assert their rights but "the decades-long tradition of tribal communities."

NEW YORK CITY - The United Nations General Assembly has designated Aug. 22 as the first-ever International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - For the Catholic Church to be renewed, the entire body of Christ - especially the laity - must strive to live the faith devoutly. This was the message of Father Roger Landry, who works for the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations, at a Eucharistic assembly in July.

ROME, Italy - With migrant and refugee numbers at a crisis level in Europe and other parts of the world, the international community must act to alleviate the suffering of those forced to leave their homes, a priest said this week.

SYDNEY - Thousands of pro-life supporters demonstrated in the streets of Sydney, expressing their opposition to a bill in the New South Wales state parliament that would permit abortion until birth for any reason.

Migrants have abandoned rural Guatemala in droves in recent years and currently comprise the largest nationality of detainees on the U.S. southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.

OTTAWA, Ontario - About 200 people, most clutching a rosary, held a prayer vigil as a satanic black mass occurred Aug. 17 at a heavy metal club in the Canadian capital.