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."

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines assured the government that the country's church leaders are not against President Rodrigo Duterte.

WASHINGTON – Now that lawmakers have withdrawn the American Health Care Act, Congress must "seize this moment to create a new spirit of bipartisanship" and make "necessary reforms" in existing health care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.