MANILA, Philippines – An interfaith delegation from the Philippines raised concerns over drug-related killings during a meeting with the special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings at the United Nations.

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican stamp and coin office has big plans for early May: the release of stamps marking retired Pope Benedict XVI's 90th birthday and important events in the life of the church spanning almost 2,000 years.

HONG KONG – Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin of Mindong in China's eastern Fujian province has not returned after being forced to pay a visit to the religious affairs bureau in Fuan April 7, local sources told ucanews.com.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis and cardinals present in Rome will formally approve the canonizations of two of the children who saw Mary in Fatima, a large group of Brazilian martyrs, three child martyrs from Mexico and two priests.

YAMBIO, South Sudan – As civilians are increasingly targeted in South Sudan's civil war, a bishop urged prominent community leaders to unequivocally condemn revenge killings, violence against civilians, and hate speech that ignites tribal sentiments.

VATICAN CITY – Before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once wrote that he was grateful for being born on a day that fell during the church's most intense liturgical season.

WASHINGTON – Two prominent Catholic leaders in Syria criticized the U.S. missile strikes against their nation, wondering why they occurred before investigations into the origins of chemical attacks reported April 4.

KINSHASA, Congo – Congo's bishops said Catholics are facing a new wave of violence following the collapse of a church mediation plan, and in some places church leaders have fled to the forest.

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee and other prominent pro-life leaders cheered the U.S. State Department's April 3 announcement that it would no longer contribute to the U.N. Population Fund because of the agency's involvement in China's Population and Family Planning Law, long known as the "one-child policy."

MEDJUGORJE, Bosnia-Herzegovina – While he said he had no authority or expertise to discuss the authenticity of the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Pope Francis' envoy to the town said it was clear "there is a special spiritual climate here."