MANILA, Philippines – Martial law in the southern Philippines and security forces' clashes with a local terrorist group in Mindanao made a mockery of Independence Day celebrations June 12, said a Philippine bishop.

SEOUL, South Korea – A peace treaty is needed to replace the 64-year truce between North Korea and South Korea, ending a situation where the two countries remain technically at war, speakers at a symposium organized by the South Korean bishops said.

MANILA, Philippines – Martyrdom is "not a remote possibility" for Catholics in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao where a priest and several church staff members were abducted by gunmen last month, a Jesuit priest said.

BHOPAL, India – A priest in the north Indian state of Rajasthan is fighting to end discrimination against children whose parents live with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

MANILA, Philippines – Muslim religious and political leaders in the Philippines have joined in the barrage of condemnation of the desecration of a Catholic cathedral by terrorist gunmen in the besieged city of Marawi.

MANILA, Philippines – The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines called for an end to martial law in Mindanao, saying that it is "not the proper response to terrorist attacks in just one city on a vast island."

WASHINGTON – Catholic leaders said President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate change agreement snubs the needs of impoverished people around the world and eschews responsibility to begin addressing the causes of global warming.

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.