News Briefs

Sarah Torre, an analyst for the Heritage Foundation, reported at a discussion in Washington on Oct. 30 that the number of cancer screenings conducted at Planned Parenthood affiliates had declined by half over the last 10 years, while the number of abortions climbed from 250,000 to 327,000. • On Oct. 26 officials from Catholic Relief Services were planning the agency’s response to a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that shook Pakistan and Afghanistan on Oct. 26, leaving 380 people dead. • As dusk fell over Jerusalem’s Old City on Oct. 29, a group of 60 Christians and Jews and one Muslim gathered at the Jaffa Gate for what they hope will become a monthly interreligious prayer service for peace. • U.S. bishops will consider a revision of their statement on political responsibility and vote on a statement on pornography, among other issues, during their Nov. 16-19 fall general assembly in Baltimore. • As refugee misery piles higher on Greek islands near Turkey, Antonio Guterres, the U.N. high Commissioner for Refugees, told a panel in Washington on Oct. 30 that he would like a more reasoned discussion about the crisis, especially in Europe, where the debate has been “hijacked” by anxieties and xenophobia.