Merzouk’s killing blew the lid off years of simmering resentment because of the police treatment of black and Arab youth, the ghettoization of immigrants and their descendants and the general hopelessness among black and Arab youth who feel like second-class citizens in France.

According to a new report from Fidelity Charitable, Catholic organizations, including dioceses as well as human services organizations with church ties, continue to rank among the top beneficiaries of support in many U.S. cities.

The basic question centers on whether the present military conflict in Sudan will metastasize into a protracted, all-out civil war as both generals repeat in their own ways the atrocities begun by Mr. al-Bashir years ago in Darfur.

The slate of delegates is emblematic of the at-times competing ideological poles of the U.S. church—and the continued effort by Francis to reorient U.S. bishops toward his vision for the church.

“I’m honored to be invited by the Holy Father to participate in the Synod,” Father James Martin said. “As a Jesuit, I’m committed to this kind of group discernment.”

Calling the 6-to-3 decision handed down Thursday “more than disappointing,” the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities said that the court “ignores the more-than-apparent effects of continued racism in our society.”