Egyptian authorities on May 19 arrested Mina Thabet, a well-known advocate for the rights of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, the latest move in the government’s crackdown on rights activists and dissidents. • Francesco Patton, an Italian Franciscan priest named on May 20 Custos of the Ho

Bishop Robert McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego has convened a diocesan synod to meet on Oct. 28-29 to reflect on the major themes of the recent apostolic exhortation “The Joy of Love.” The bishop believes the synod will not only help San Diego Catholics grapple with the modern ch

As heavy fighting continues across the Nineveh Plain, some Christians displaced by the Islamic State have given up the dream of returning home and joined the stream of refugees leaving the war-torn country. Others remain in Iraqi Kurdistan, clinging to the hope that they can someday go back to their

Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry told hundreds of mourners at the funeral of Sister Clare Crockett, killed in Ecuador during an earthquake on April 17, that “a life given in loving sacrifice is never wasted.” • Twenty-three new Swiss Guard recruits pledged during a ceremony on May 6 to

Something developed countries take for granted—electricity—could go a long way to stem violence often attributed to religion, said Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, Nigeria, in the country’s northwest. Only major cities, like state capitals, have reliable electricity, the bish

Pope Francis, accepting a prize for promoting European unity, on May 6 bemoaned that the continent’s people “are tempted to yield to our own selfish interests and to consider putting up fences.”“I dream of a Europe where being a migrant is not a crime but a summons to a