IRBIL, Iraq – Chaldean Catholic bishops, meeting for their annual synod, pleaded for peace in the Middle East and for the liberation of areas seized by the Islamic State group so that the displaced can return to their homes.

LOS ANGELES – The California Catholic bishops are urging voters to support a November ballot initiative that would outlaw the death penalty.

CARTAGENA, Colombia – An agreement to end Latin America's last armed conflict is the start of a process of positive change for Colombia, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said hours before the government and Marxist rebels were set to sign peace accords Sept. 26.

NEW YORK – The campaign of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced Sept. 22 that it has formed a group of Catholic leaders to advise him "on those issues and policies important to Catholics and other people of faith in America."

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – One day after a knife-wielding man injured nine people at a shopping mall near St. Cloud, Bishop Donald J. Kettler called for prayers for those impacted by the violence.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In his 50 years of voting in U.S. elections, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said he has never seen the two major parties offer "two such deeply flawed" presidential nominees "at the same time."

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the Philippine bishops' conference set "ethical guidelines" against proposals to reinstate the death penalty as the country's war on drugs continues, with body counts increasing daily.

WASHINGTON – Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore sharply criticized comments made by Martin Castro, chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, that the phrases "religious liberty" and "religious freedom" were "code words" used to discriminate.

BONN, Germany – As Europeans planned weekend street protests against a controversial trade treaty with the United States, a European Church leader said intergovernmental agreements were worthwhile when they reflected ethical standards.

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's King Abdullah II told a visiting delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches that his country has become a model for coexistence, fraternity and moderation in the Middle East.