WASHINGTON – Now that lawmakers have withdrawn the American Health Care Act, Congress must "seize this moment to create a new spirit of bipartisanship" and make "necessary reforms" in existing health care law to address access, affordability, life and conscience, said three U.S. bishops' committee chairmen.

PARIS – A French Catholic priest working with North Korean refugees in China said conditions have worsened for surviving Christians under the dictatorship of Kim Jong Un and urged the Chinese government to give shelter to fugitives from the communist-ruled country.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – At the urging of Catholic leaders, El Salvador has passed a law banning metal mining nationwide, making the small Central American country the first in the world to outlaw the industry.

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican hopes that U.S. bishops and others will continue to raise their voices in defense of the obligation to fight climate change and, in time, can persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to change his position, a top Vatican official said.

WASHINGTON– President Donald Trump's executive order calling for a review of the Clean Power Plan jeopardizes environmental protections and moves the country away from a national carbon standard to help meet domestic and international goals to ease greenhouse gas emissions, said the chairman of a U.S. bishops' committee.

KINSHASA, Congo – Catholic bishops in Congo have abandoned attempts to arrange a government-opposition power-sharing agreement, amid rising violence.

WASHINGTON – Catholic leaders are calling for governments to protect the territorial rights of indigenous people suffering eviction from their lands and pollution of their water because of mining and oil operations in the Amazon basin.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice issued a brief notice March 17 that it will appeal a Maryland federal judge's ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's new executive order on a temporary travel ban.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The inclusion of "critical life protections" in the House health care bill is laudable, but other provisions, including those related to Medicaid and tax credits, are "troubling" and "must be addressed" before the measure is passed, said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' domestic policy committee.

ARMAGH, Northern Ireland – The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has urged Irish people and those of Irish descent celebrating St. Patrick's Day to remember the plight of migrants.