Issa Kassissieh, the ambassador of Palestine to the Holy See wrote a letter to the pope recently.  “From the Holy Land of Palestine, I am pleased to deliver sentiments of love and admiration from the Palestinian people towards a loving…

Pope Francis received her majesty Queen Elizabeth for an official “tea” at the Vatican recently where the two exchanged casual conversation and gifts. The 17-minute meeting was the fifth encounter the 87-year-old monarch has had with a pope. Her first…

At a recent book festival in Charlottesville, Virginia, Ambassador Francis Rooney spoke about the Vatican and its diplomatic links to the United States and other nations during a panel discussion. Ambassador Rooney was President George W. Bush’s envoy to the…

Pope Francis granted an audience to Karolos Papoulias, the President of Greece. They discussed the legal status of religious communities and the role of religion in society and ecumenical collaboration within the Orthodox nation. They also discussed the economic crisis,…

In spite of vexing differences between the U.S. President and the Catholic Church, the president and the pope met at the Apostolic Palace in Rome on March 27. The cordial meeting discussed international conflict, human rights and religious freedom. The…

At least twenty-four people have died when a massive mudslide buried their homes in Oso, Washington. The death toll could go higher as up to 176 people were reported missing among the crumpled homes and tons of mud in Snohomish…

Thought it was the scene of many bloody conflicts and was bombed by NATO in the 1990s, Serbia has begun discussions with the European Union about joining the regional block of nations.  While it will take several years of talks…

Germany is weighing an increase in its military involvement in foreign matters. After a recent meeting between Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, Steinmeier said, “Germany can’t leave France on its own” in its military…

Ulf Ekman resigned from the board of Yoido Full Gospel Church, one of the world’s largest congregations, and will join the Roman Catholic Church. The Charismatic church was founded in South Korea by David Yonggi Cho.  Ekman, who founded the…

The Sudbury Massachusetts United Methodist Church held a worship service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first time a Roman Catholic Cardinal spoke at a Protestant church. The service attracted an overflow crowd of more than 500. When Cardinal…

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is upset with the NSA. He believes it has overstepped its bounds in surveillance. So, Mark called President Obama and told him so. “The U.S. government should be the champion for the Internet, not a…

As expected, Canada has signed an information sharing agreement with the United States to comply with the U.S. law known as FATCA. There are many such agreements, but this one involves sharing information about Americans who have bank accounts in…