Italy

By Philippa Hitchen reporting from Vatican City VATICAN CITY/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Rome's most famous landmark, the Colosseum, will be lit up in red on Saturday, February 24, as a sign of solidarity with all those facing persecution for their faith. They include a Pakistani mother of five on death row who is expected to be released soon amid international pressure, family and organizers said.

By BosNewsLife News Center ASMARA/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Christian rights activists have expressed concerns over the alleged international efforts by Eritrea's government to intimidate opponents of its policies, after an Italian human rights defender was seriously injured when Eritrean government supporters apparently threw rocks and bottles at her during a demonstration in Rome.

By BosNewsLife News Center TRIPOLI/ROME/WASHINGTON (BosNewsLife)-- Italian police say they have detained 15 Muslims who allegedly threw 12 Christians from an overcrowded migrant boat after they expressed faith in Jesus Christ. Vatican Radio, citing survivors, reported that the Christians had been praying for their lives during during a recent crossing from Libya.

By BosNewsLife News Center VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis has called a Christian Syrian woman "a martyr" after hearing she was killed by Islamic militants for refusing to deny her faith in Jesus Christ. The leader of the world's one billion Catholics told the faithful in St. Peter's Square that he spoke with the young woman's widow during his visit Saturday, April 16, to the Greek island of Lesbos where he also visited refugees held in an overcrowded detention center.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife at BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reporting from Italy ROME/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Vatican and several Italian church leaders expressed their pain Tuesday, February 10, about the sudden death of a 38-year-old woman who ignited a fierce right-to-die debate that divided Italy.

By Linda Bordoni CAIRO/VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with Egypt's Coptic Christians following an attack on a bus carrying Coptic pilgrims to a remote desert monastery in Egypt.

By BosNewsLife News Center ROME, ITALY (BosNewsLife)-- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled a trip to Russia and declared a state of emergency after a powerful early morning earthquake in central Italy killed scores of people and left many people injured and tens of thousands of people homeless.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- For the first time in nearly 1,000 years bone fragments of Saint Nicholas, one of the Russian Orthodox Church's most revered figures, have been moved from an Italian church to Russia where huge crowds of Orthodox faithful were expected to visit the relics. The historic move follows talks between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.

By BosNewsLife News Center with additional reports from Rome, Vatican City and reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ROME/VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- As the doors closed and the Swiss Guards left his summer residence, Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to retire in some 600 years, following a moving farewell address to thousands in which he urged the Catholic Church to remain united in one of the most challenging times in its history.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service KHARTOUM/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- A Sudanese mother who was spared a death sentence for refusing to renounce Christianity has been flown to Italy, after more than a month in the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Italian officials confirmed Thursday, July 24.