Police told media the attacks were carried out by "suicide bombers" and warned the toll could rise further.
East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said explosions took place in three churches and 35 people had been taken to hospital.
"There is one location where we can't enter yet," Mange

who had spent the last one to three years as prisoners in North Korea. All three men are Christians and ethnically Korean. Two were falsely accused of “hostile acts” and arrested in the spring of 2017. The third, according to USA Today, was imprisoned for supposedly spying on North Korea and “trying

In his new apostolic exhortation, “Gaudete et Exsultate” (“Rejoice and Be Glad”), released by the Vatican April 9, the Pope urged Christians not to think of the devil as an intangible construct but rather “a personal being who assails us.”
“We should not think of the devil as a myth, a representati

before speaking to the press at the headquarters of the Rome-based Sant’Egidio Community which is engaged in peace negotiations in the country.
Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu in Uganda, who has been involved in mediating between South Sudan’s warring parties, told Vatican News that Pope Fran

There have been many evangelists over the years, but few have had to come to grips with the sin prevalent in this postmodern age during the course of making it their life's work to preach the good news of the gospel to all nations. Graham, from the young age of 24 has been used by God to preach the

Earlier, the pontiff highlighted the plight of vulnerable immigrants and robustly defended a bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse at the end of a visit to Chile overshadowed by controversy.
In the northern border region of Iquique — which he said was “the land of dreams” for so many — the pop

day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. CREDIT: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
Pope Francis dealt a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump in his annual Christmas message on Monday, hitting the U.S. leader on immigration and calling for a pea

In a press statement released on Sunday, the Holy See Press Office reiterated the Pope's concerns regarding the volatile situation in and around Jerusalem.
In expressing sorrow for the clashes of the past few days that have left people dead, the Holy Father renews his appeal for wisdom and prudence

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and a delegation of political and religious authorities were on the tarmac to meet him together with a group of children who welcomed him with flowers, singing and dancing.
After the welcome ceremony the Pope visited the National Martyr’s Memorial and Bangabadhu Mem

as well as by crowds of ordinary people who lined the road to the archbishop’s residence where he’ll be staying for the three-day visit.
Philippa Hitchen is in Yangon to report on this papal journey and was among the crowds waiting for the Pope and his entourage to arrive in the city centre.
It’s

and urged Christians to overcome indifference and seek ways to actively love the poor that they meet.
“In the poor, we find the presence of Jesus, who, though rich, became poor,” the Pope said Nov. 19. Because of this, “in their weakness, a saving power is present. And if in the eyes of the world t

The cordial conversation that took place on Saturday morning during a private audience in the Apostolic Palace between the Pope and President Bai Koroma focused mainly on the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the west African nation of Sierra Leone and on the important contribution

and leaving more than 500 injured as thousands of frantic concert-goers screamed and ran for their lives, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said Monday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
President Trump called the attack "an act of pure evil" and said the FBI and Depart

In remarks prepared for the occasion, and delivered to participants during the course of an audience that began shortly before noon in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Pope Francis reflected particularly on the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy that ran through 2016, und

shared an emotional meeting with Pope Francis, saying that throughout his time as a prisoner, he offered his suffering for the Pope and the Church.
According to a Sept. 13 article published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the encounter took place at the Pope's residence in the Vatica