Papal Visit to Conference in Brazil Begins May 9Pope Benedict XVI is making his first trip to the Western Hemisphere in mid-May, traveling to Brazil to open a strategizing session with Latin American bishops. The May 9-13 visit begins with a string of pastoral events in São Paulo, where the pope wi

Vatican Calls for Durable Solutions’ for RefugeesThe international community must do more to welcome and support the thousands of refugees daily fleeing the horrific violence in Iraq, said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to U.N. and other international organizatio

Lebanese Christians Flee Growing Fundamentalism Christians are fleeing Lebanon to escape an ongoing political and economic crisis amid signs that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in the country. Forty-three percent of Maronite Catholicsthe largest of the country’s 12 Christian denominati

Jerusalem Hospice Open to Patients of All FaithsWhen Sister Monika Dullmann first came as a volunteer to Saint-Louis Hospital in Jerusalem as a young theologian, the most difficult task she faced was watching terminally ill patients suffer. Sister Monika, now the hospital director, said 20 years of

U.S. Peace Activists Visit Vatican On the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, three U.S. Catholic peace activists paid a discreet but significant visit to the Vatican. The officers of the Indiana-based Catholic Peace Fellowship were in Rome in mid-March to promote the issue of conscientious objec

Pope, Putin Discuss Catholic-Orthodox Relations Pope Benedict XVI and President Vladimir Putin of Russia spent 25 minutes speaking privately March 13, discussing Catholic-Orthodox relations and ways to strengthen the relationship between the Vatican and the Russian government. Although two translato