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Wau, South Sudan, Aug 20, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the civil war in South Sudan heightens, millions are fleeing their homes for safer ground, which many have found at St. Mary Help of Christian's Cathedral in Wau, the country's second largest city. “Those who flee believe that even rebels still fear God and would not slaughter civilians in the backyard of a church,” said Fr. Moses Peter, a priest at St. Mary's, according to IRIN News. “Many other churches have also taken in hundreds of people,” he said. South Sudan has been in the middle of a...

BREAKING NEWS: Terror in Paris as Algerian student screaming 'This is for Syria' attacks policeman with a hammer and knives outside Notre Dame Cathedral before being shot by cop

PARIS -- A police officer shot and wounded a man who attacked a group of three officers with a hammer near Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, authorities said. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters that the man yelled "this is for Syria" when he attacked the officers. Collomb said that an officer used his weapon to shoot the assailant. The man was also armed with kitchen knives, Collomb said. Paris police tweeted that one officer was wounded in the attack. CBS Radio News' Elaine Cobbe reports that the investigation has been handed over to the police's anti-terrorism unit. The incident...

rench police have shot a man outside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris after he tried to attack them with a hammer and shouted "This is for Syria", according to the interior minister. He was also in possession of two knives. One policeman was lightly injured in the attack. The main square has been evacuated and a police operation is underway. Paris police say the situation is now "under control". Anti-terror prosecutors have launched an investigation meaning they consider the attack terror-related. Two "blasts" sparked panic among tourists amassed outside Notre Dame. A man was then seen "lying on the ground...

Police have responded to an alert at Paris's ND cathedral amid reports of gunshots and panic. Officials warned people to stay away from the area saying there was an "incident" at the popular tourist attraction.

For eight decades, the iconic Hagia Sophia [Ἁγία Σοφία, “Holy Wisdom”] – museum in Istanbul [Constantinople] has stood as a symbol of Turkey’s commitment to a secular society. Now that tradition is under siege by growing calls to convert the historic structure back into a practicing mosque. The 1,500-year-old structure originally was built as an Orthodox Christian cathedral. It was turned into a mosque in the 15th century after the Ottoman Turks defeated the Greek emperor in Constantinople and renamed the city Istanbul. In the 1930s, the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, turned it into a museum in his...

Islamic State published a video on Sunday threatening Egyptian Christians and showing the last statement of a man it said was responsible for the deadly bombing in December of a Coptic cathedral in Cairo. The masked man in battle-dress, whom the group identified as Abu Abdallah al-Masri, is seen encouraging militants all over the world not to give up and promising Islamists jailed in Egypt they will be freed soon, when the group "liberates" Cairo. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had already identified the bomber as a 22-year-old student called Mahmoud Shafik, and it is believed Abu Abdallah al-Masri was his...

Cologne Cathedral is to introduce stringent new security measures amid ongoing security fears, with worshippers’ bags being searched and private security drafted in. Cathedral provost Gerd Bachner told a press conference on Saturday that people “must not be afraid” when they visit the building. “We have to do more to ensure safety,” the provost said. However, that personnel should still act “proportionately”. From 1 March, there will be a ban on bringing large suitcases, travel bags, and hiking bags into the cathedral. Kölnischer Rundschau also reports that a private security firm will join the traditional cathedral vergers in policing worshippers,...

Security has been increased following the murder of Fr Jacques HamelPolice with guns are patrolling Canterbury Cathedral amid fears about terror attacks. The extra security comes after a series of jihadist attacks across Europe, including the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel. Essex and Kent Police have ordered armed officers to guard potential terrorist targets, including the cathedral, major shopping centres, the port of Dover and London Southend Airport. Photos have emerged of police officers carrying Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifles, Glock 17 semi-auto 9mm pistols and Tasers outside the cathedral. A spokesman for Canterbury Cathedral said: “Having grown used...

A German court has convicted four Algerian men of plotting to bomb a busy Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg, and sentenced them to prison terms of 10-12 years. The plot was foiled by German police just before it was to have taken place in late December 2000. In handing down the Frankfurt court's sentence, presiding Judge Karlheinz Zeiher said the four men had intended to kill defenseless people with the aim of spreading terror in France and throughout Europe. He said they wanted to punish France because of its support for the Algerian government. Judge Zeiher said...

French authorities have charged a woman in relation to an alleged ISIS plot to attack this city's famous Notre Dame Cathedral last week, the Paris prosecutor's office said. The woman, whose name was given as Ornella G., was charged Saturday night with "terrorist criminal association to commit crimes against people" and "attempted assassinations as an organized gang in connection with a terrorist enterprise," the office said. The prosecutor, Francois Molins, whose office handles terrorism investigations, said Friday that the woman's fingerprints were found last Sunday in a car containing a half-dozen gas cylinders and left parked in front of Notre...

PARIS (AP) — Authorities in the south of France have arrested a Tunisian who is allegedly part of a group with links to the al-Qaida terrorist network, officials said Monday. The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested on Oct. 14 in Marseille — four days after Italian police arrested four alleged accomplices, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. A fifth man was arrested on Oct. 11 on the Mediterranean island of Malta. The group was based in Italy and provided logistical help to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, ministry officials said. The suspect arrested in France also allegedly...

The historic Manhattan cathedral that was gutted in a massive fire was one of four Christian Orthodox churches to go up in flames on Orthodox Easter Sunday — sparking fears of a coordinated attack on the religion. While FDNY officials said the blaze at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava on West 25th Street does not appear suspicious, members of the Orthodox community have doubts. They are worried that the blaze — along with church fires in Australia and Russia — were set in retaliation for the religion’s role in blocking the canonization of Croatian Nazi supporter Cardinal Aloysius...

"Midtown Manhattan cathedral engulfed in flames: 'Irreplaceable' 160-year-old Orthodox Christian church is consumed by fire" A 160-year-old Orthodox Christian cathedral in New York has been completely destroyed after a huge fire tore through it on Sunday The blaze broke out at the Serbian Cathedral of Saint Sava on 25th Street in Manhattan's Flatiron district at around 7pm. It is not known how the fire started, though it is believed to have broken out on the first floor of the building before consuming the interior and roof. An FDNY spokesman said that nobody was believed to be inside the building at...

On 27 November 2015, Orthodox Vesper service was celebrated for the first time in history at the Cologne Cathedral during the autumn session of the Orthodox Episcopal Conference in Germany. Over one thousand worshippers from the Orthodox communities of Cologne and the neighboring cities attended. The Cologne Cathedral is unique church; its main sanctuary was consecrated in September 1322 on the site on which the believers used to gather for prayers even in the first centuries of Christianity. The celebration of an Orthodox service became possible thanks to friendly support by Dompropst Gerd Bachner and Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop...

State Duma deputies have supported the idea of the return of Agia Sophia in Constantinople to the Orthodox Church. This was stated by Chairman of Committee on Property, and the coordinator of the inter-factional parliamentary group on the protection of Christian values, Sergei Gavrilov, TSN reports. Today, when Russian-Turkish relations are undergoing an "endurance trial," mutually friendly initiatives and proposals are of special importance, Gavrilov says. "The Russian side deems it possible to return to the question of Agia Sophia, the ancient shrine of the Christian world, located in Constantinople - an ancient Byzantine cathedral associated with the history of...

WARNING: The video footage included below is shocking and contains violence and censored nudity. Viewer discretion is advised.  Mar de Plata, October 13, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - A horrific and surreal scene unfolded Monday night outside the Cathedral of Mar de Plata in Argentina as hordes of women, many of them masked and half naked, violently assaulted a group of young men who stood outside the Cathedral of Mar de Plata praying and standing watch. Such violence is becoming the norm for the annual March for Women in the Pope's native land of Argentina, although this year's violence seemed to be the...

Confiscated by the Bolsheviks, first used as a warehouse and more recently a concert hall, the cathedral will be restored to the Orthodox diocese. In 2010 it was reopened for worship.Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, one of the symbols of the city of the Tsars and now owned by the state, will be returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. This was announced April 14 by Nikolai Burov, director of the museum of the four cathedrals which also includes that of Smolny. "The decision has been made: the Smolny Cathedral will be restored to the diocese,"...

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Mar 23, 2015 / 05:33 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia, which serves the more than 2 million Catholics in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, last week celebrated the 50th anniversary of its cathedral parish. On March 19, Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, said a Mass of thanksgiving to mark the anniversary of the founding of St. Joseph's Cathedral, located in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. St. Joseph's is the oldest Catholic church in the emirates. Bishop Hinder was joined by more than 30...

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - The Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia, which serves the more than 2 million Catholics in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, last week celebrated the 50th anniversary of its cathedral parish. On March 19, Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, said a Mass of thanksgiving to mark the anniversary of the founding of St. Joseph's Cathedral, located in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. St. Joseph's is the oldest Catholic church in the emirates. Bishop Hinder was joined by more than 30 priests, nuns, and over 5,000 laity for...