VIENNA - The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has urged the Vatican to show greater support for his country, as a senior Vatican diplomat warned the country risked becoming "a kind of Somalia."

ROSEBURG, Ore. - The gunman behind the Oct. 1 massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg reportedly asked students whether they were Christian.

VATICAN CITY - For World Communications Day 2016, Pope Francis has chosen the theme "Communication and Mercy: A fruitful encounter."

CARMEL, Calif. - Days after St. Junipero Serra was canonized by Pope Francis in Washington, a statue of the 18th-century Franciscan missionary and other property at the Carmel Mission where the saint is buried were defaced.

WASHINGTON - Pope Francis introduced himself to President Barack Obama and all people of the United States as a "son of an immigrant family" arriving in the United States for the first time to learn from others and to share from his own experience.

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - Bishops in Burkina Faso, one of Africa's most Catholic countries, have denounced a Sept. 16 military coup and demanded that democratic elections proceed as planned.

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba and the United States comes as people and politicians in both countries increasingly support ending an economic embargo that has been in place for more than five decades.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's doctrinal congregation upheld a Spanish bishop's refusal to allow a transsexual person to be a godparent.

LONDON - Images of drowned refugees are causing the British people to cry out for a more generous response to the migrant crisis engulfing Europe, said an English cardinal.

NEW DELHI - The Catholic Church in India supported some 150 million workers on a nationwide strike that shut down factories, banks, traffic and government offices across India Sept. 2.