WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Senate "have a grave obligation" to make sure their health care reform bill respects life, provides access to adequate health care "for all" and is "truly affordable," the chairmen of four U.S. bishops' committees said in a letter to senators released June 2.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's June 1 decision "not to honour the U.S. commitment" to the Paris climate agreement "is deeply troubling," said the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

MANILA, Philippines – Catholic bishops in the southern Philippines supported the declaration of martial law in Mindanao following an attempt by a band of gunmen claiming to be Islamic militants to seize a city in the region.

RICHMOND, Va. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, issued a 10-3 ruling May 25 to uphold a Maryland federal court's injunction against President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban.

BANGKOK – Cardinal-designate Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, who will become the first cardinal from Laos, is an ethnic Khmu, a hill tribe from northern Laos and southern China.

UNITED NATIONS – Migration should be "a choice rather than something forced or involuntary," said Philippine Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations.

MANILA, Philippines – Gunmen claiming to have links with the Islamic State group threatened to kill hostages, including a Catholic priest, who were taken from the southern Philippine city of Marawi May 23.

WASHINGTON – Tens of thousands of Haitians enrolled under the Temporary Protected Status program can stay in the United States until at least January.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez dedicated his appointment as El Salvador's first Catholic cardinal to his longtime friend and mentor, Blessed Oscar Romero, a slain archbishop who has come to symbolize the small Central American country's fight for justice.

VATICAN CITY – Like parish priests throughout Italy do during the Easter season, Pope Francis spent an afternoon May 19 going door-to-door and blessing homes.