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Non-state actors, Secretary of State Kerry said, “are now the principal persecutors and preventers of religious tolerance and practice. Most prominent, and most harmful, obviously, has been the rise of international terrorist groups such as Daesh, al-Qaida, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram. And all have been guilty of vicious acts of unprovoked violence.”

The contraction and displacement of Christians has been driven by the well-founded threat of genocide after a number of well-publicized and brutal attacks conducted by Islamic State militants and other extremists groups like Africa’s notorious Boko Haram.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, called the decision “meaningless.”

“Jesus’ words are strong, aren’t they?” the pope said. “‘Woe to the world for scandals.’ Jesus is a realist. He says it’s inevitable that there will be scandals, but ‘Woe to the one who causes the scandal,'” the pope told people attending his weekly general audience.

The scene in Foundation Hall of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum during Pope Francis' visit spoke volumes about the Catholic Church and interreligious relations.On the platform with Pope Francis Sept. 25 were representatives of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Muslim religions as

Greece is bracing for thousands more Syrians and other people to land on Lesbos and other key island crossings from Turkey, as those fleeing conflict remain undeterred by the worsening weather and colder autumn temperatures in their desperate search for safety in Europe.

Housed in a Jesuit-owned building, the shelter is run with funds from the papal almoner

Cupich cited a memorable line from Pope Francis’ speech to Congress, when the pontiff denounced the profits of the arms trade as “money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.”

Melkite Catholic Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo said that the bombing of rebel positions by Russian jets was “a source of hope” for Syria.

“As part of the church’s ancient teaching on the dignity of the human person,” Archbishop Vigano wrote, “the Holy Father has advocated for ‘the establishment of the universal moratorium on executions throughout the world, in order to abolish capital punishment.'”