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PAJU, South Korea (AP) -- The Latest on tensions between North and South Korea following Pyongyang's rocket launch (all times local):...

PAJU, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea on Thursday vowed to immediately deport all South Korean nationals and freeze all South Korean assets at a jointly run factory park in the North, a swift, aggressive response to the South Korean decision to suspend operations at the former symbol of inter-Korean cooperation....

 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others.""Even as Americans rema...

WASHINGTON-The Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, February 1, on behalf of USCCB, the Texas Catholic Conference and several Christian partners in support of a Texas law mandating health and safety standards protecting women who undergo abortions. Other groups joining the brief include the National Association of Evangelicals, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The case is Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, currently before the U.S. Supreme Court."There is ample evidence in this case that hospital admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements protect women's lives and health," said the brief. "When such requirements are not enforced, abuses detrimental to women's lives and health arise."The brief noted that some abortion clinics have decla...

New Haven, Conn., Feb 10, 2016 / 07:12 pm (CNA).- A gift of 40 dollars in Lent could help persecuted Christians and other refugees in the Middle East, thanks to the latest appeal from the Knights of Columbus.“During the Lenten season, we recall Christ’s suffering and death,” Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said Feb. 9. “In turn, remembering and assisting those who are today suffering and dying for their belief in Christ is an excellent way to do good where it is most needed and to enter more deeply into the spirit of this season.”Anderson noted the traditional Lenten habit of making sacrifices. He said the Knights of Columbus wanted to provide “an opportunity for their sacrifice to make a difference – not only in their own life, but in the lives of others.”The Catholic fraternal order is promoting its “40 Bucks for Lent” donation campaign using the hashtag #40BucksForLent to benefit its Christian Refugee Re...

New Haven, Conn., Feb 10, 2016 / 07:12 pm (CNA).- A gift of 40 dollars in Lent could help persecuted Christians and other refugees in the Middle East, thanks to the latest appeal from the Knights of Columbus.

“During the Lenten season, we recall Christ’s suffering and death,” Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said Feb. 9. “In turn, remembering and assisting those who are today suffering and dying for their belief in Christ is an excellent way to do good where it is most needed and to enter more deeply into the spirit of this season.”

Anderson noted the traditional Lenten habit of making sacrifices. He said the Knights of Columbus wanted to provide “an opportunity for their sacrifice to make a difference – not only in their own life, but in the lives of others.”

The Catholic fraternal order is promoting its “40 Bucks for Lent” donation campaign using the hashtag #40BucksForLent to benefit its Christian Refugee Relief Fund.

The Knights of Columbus began the relief fund in 2014. It has raised nearly $10 million for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities, particularly those from Iraq and Syria fleeing the violence of ISIS.

The fund helps provide housing, food, medical aid, education and other relief. In 2015, the Knights of Columbus helped bring a young Iraqi girl to the U.S. so she could receive specialized medical care.

The fund also supports efforts to raise awareness about the refugees’ situation through television commercials and news stories.

Anderson has testified on Capitol Hill about the refugee situation. He has also joined other U.S. leaders in asking the U.S. State Department to recognize the persecution of Middle Eastern Christians as genocide.

The Knights of Columbus has nearly 1.9 million members worldwide.

Donations to the refugee relief fund are tax deductible. The Knights of Columbus said that 100 percent of all donations support humanitarian assistance and awareness raising efforts.

The Christian Refugee Relief Fund’s website is at http://ChristiansAtRisk.org.

 

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The U.S. Olympic Committee will hire two infectious disease specialists to advise potential Olympians who are worried about the Zika outbreak in Brazil....

PAJU, South Korea (AP) -- South Korean workers on Thursday began shutting down a jointly run industrial park in North Korea, a move that will end, at least temporarily, the Koreas' last major cooperation project as punishment over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch....

HAVANA (AP) -- The heads of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches will hold a historic meeting Friday in the threadbare international airport of an officially secular, communist-run tropical island....

The four armed activists who on Wednesday night were surrounded by the FBI at a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon have remained on the site despite the arrests of group leader Ammon Bundy and others Jan. 26 on a remote road outside the refuge. Wednesday's tense standoff between the FBI and the four occupiers was being livestreamed on the Internet....

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The FBI surrounded the last four occupiers of a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon on Wednesday night as the holdouts argued with a negotiator and yelled at law enforcement officers in armored vehicles to back off....