Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican secretary for relations with states, attended the Syria Donors Conference in London Feb. 4 and said the Catholic Church would continue to help the region through its fundraising efforts.
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A Paris butcher offers a lesson in interfaith ties
“We work well together,” says Philippe Zribi, a Tunisian-born Jew whose family runs the butcher’s store that employs eight people: three Jews, three Muslims and two Catholics.
Prayer breakfast: President Obama says faith is great cure for fear
“Fear does funny things. Fear can lead us to lash out against those who are different. Or lead us to try to get some sinister other under control,” Obama said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.
Kentucky tops health coverage gains but GOP looks to remake Medicaid
“To be top of this list would be an achievement if it didn’t mean that one-third of Kentuckians are on government subsidies,” Gov. Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said.
Syrian family arrives in Italy in first humanitarian airlift, meant to discourage dangerous sea passage
The Rome-based Catholic Sant’Egidio Community and the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy lobbied the Italian government to grant 1,000 humanitarian visas for particularly vulnerable refugees.
Pope asks Mexican people for time alone with Our Lady of Guadalupe
“I’m going to Mexico not as a wise man bearing things, messages, ideas or solutions to problems…But I will seek the wealth of faith that you have; I want to come in contact with that wealth of faith.”
Sisters’ billboards bring pope’s environmental message to Iowa caucuses
“Our big hope is that people see that caring for the climate, caring for the earth is a moral obligation,” said Sister Joy Peterson. “It’s not political, even though we need to influence politicians, but it’s an issue so important to the future of all creation. We also want to stimulate further response to the encyclical reminding people of that message that earth is our common home.”
Salvadoran priests: Government can’t tell women when to get pregnant
Health officials have urged women to postpone their pregnancies for two years.
As children die reaching for European shores, empathy fades
Boats arrive on Europe’s shores daily, or sink on the way—like the one that capsized off Turkey’s coast on Saturday, killing at least 37 people including babies and other young children. Images from the latest tragedy, including the bodies of children, failed to generate the same level of shock.
WHO declares global emergency over Zika virus spread
The U.N. agency took the rare step despite a lack of definitive evidence proving the mosquito-borne virus is causing a surge in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil and following a 2013-14 outbreak in French Polynesia.
