St. Marianne Cope Parish

Barcelona, Spain, Aug 17, 2017 / 12:04 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- Catholic leaders voiced prayers for victims after a van sped into a crowd of people in the Las Ramblas tourist area of Barcelona on Thursday, killing at least 13 and injuring dozens more.

Saying his decision is "not based on social policy but on the law," a High Court judge in Belfast has refused to overturn a law in Northern Ireland defining marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman. Northern Ireland is the only place in Great Britain and Ireland which has not legalized same-sex marriage.

A terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, reportedly left at least 13 people dead and 50 injured. As initial accounts of the incident rolled out, Pope Francis expressed his "closeness to the entire Spanish population, in particular to the wounded and to the families of the victims." The former Archbishop of Barcelona said the violence "fills our hearts with pain."

“Two years ago we had Pope Francis's visit which was very moving for many people. Because of his closeness to the people, we wanted to put his name on the dining hall,” said Father Claudio Figueredo. Figueredo said that they began with the weekly lunches and two days with snacks. Today they are able to provide lunch and snacks every day and they also take care of the children while their parents work.

Sierra Leone has pleaded for international assistance as it reels from yet another disaster just a couple of years after the Ebola outbreak that left thousands in the region dead. With rain forecast for at least the coming week, the threat of further mudslides around Freetown remained. Many poor areas are near sea level and have poor drainage systems, which makes flooding worse during the rainy season.

Mostly ethnic Albanian Muslims make up at least 90 percent of the 2.1 million inhabitants of Kosovo, whose 2008 independence from Serbia has been recognized by 111 of the United Nations' 193 member-states, but not by the Vatican. The Catholic apostolic administration, founded in 2000 with 24 parishes, officially accounts for 3.5 percent of the population, although church leaders put numbers higher.

Santiago, Chile, Aug 17, 2017 / 04:08 am (EWTN News/CNA).- On Sundays, Felipe Pereira is full of enthusiasm. That's because on Sundays, the 21-year-old goes to Paradise Beach to enjoy the sea along with his friends and to learn how to surf.

Santiago, Chile, Aug 17, 2017 / 03:47 pm (EWTN News/CNA).- After the recent passage of a bill that would allow some abortions in Chile, the country's high court is considering whether or not the bill is a violation of the constitutional protections for unborn life.

Asunción, Paraguay, Aug 17, 2017 / 01:03 am (EWTN News/CNA).- In the wake of Pope Francis' 2015 trip to Paraguay, a local charity was founded in order to help feed dozens of children whose parents struggle to make ends meet.

Orissa, India, Aug 17, 2017 / 01:02 am (EWTN News/CNA).- Nine years ago, Christians in the Kandhamal district of Odisha, India suffered the worst attacks against Christians in modern times in the country.