Asia

Hidilyn Diaz became the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal winner, set an Olympic record -- and thanked her friends who prayed the Miraculous Medal novena. In a virtual news conference, the 30-year-old said she also prayed the novena and wore the medal.

The road ahead is a busy and joyful one for 28-year-old Coryn Rivera, starting with the dream that she has been racing toward since she was 10: representing the United States as an Olympic athlete in cycling, the sport she loves.

"Golden is thy fame, indeed," the University of Notre Dame in Indiana tweeted July 25 after Lee Kiefer, class of 2017, won the gold medal in women's foil fencing at the Tokyo Games.

As thousands of athletes gathered for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Pope Francis gave them his blessing and extended it to those organizing and supporting the events.

After record rainfall in central China left dozens dead and forced more than 1 million people to relocate, Pope Francis prayed for all those affected by the disaster.

The Olympics Games got underway in Tokyo on Friday celebrating the world's best athletes set to compete amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of the opening ceremony for the 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday the Tokyo Archdiocese has cancelled its pastoral programme for athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine bishops dedicated July 19 as a “Day of Solidarity with Myanmar”. On that day, they asked churches across the nation to toll their bells at noon and at 6:00 pm, and recite a prayer they composed especially for the suffering country.

Catholic dioceses across Myanmar continue to reach out to the suffering people as the 3rd wave of the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc amid an ever-deteriorating crisis due to the military coup and the protests.

When Australia's national customs and border law enforcement agency uploaded a Catholic document to a federal government registry monitoring modern-day slavery at the end of June, it was a significant development in efforts to end worker exploitation.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders says the custodial death of the indigenous rights activist is devastating.

Pope Francis on Friday appointed Father Deepak Valerian Tauro as Auxiliary Bishop of Delhi Archdiocese.

The United Nations' Refugee Agency releases a statement on Yemen, warning that as the humanitarian crisis continues, women and children make up three quarters of the four million people forced from their homes, putting them at greater risk.

Kalay Diocese has established an emergency response committee to provide much-needed oxygen tanks and medical help.

Catholic bishops have given Sri Lanka's government a one-month deadline to answer their letter sent on behalf of victims of the Easter 2019 church bombings, warning that they will begin organizing the faithful to action if their demands for an official explanation are not met.

In telegram sent through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, Pope Francis expresses his spiritual closeness to all affected by a fire at a Covid isolation ward of al-Hussein hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq.

Syro-Malabar Bishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad, India, urged India's prime minister to facilitate rebuilding of a church demolished by local government officials in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

With the majority of Australia's most populous state in lockdown as it grapples with an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus, a Catholic social services official called for vaccines to be made mandatory for those working in disability care.

The Catholic Church's social arm aims to help Nepal's hospitals with much-needed medical supplies such as oxygen cylinders and protective gear.

Christians and ethnic minorities in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar are facing increased oppression under the junta that overthrew the civilian government on Feb. 1, experts said during an online forum.