“We understand that there is going to be some concern and vetting” of refugees seeking protection and resettlement in the United States to make sure they have the “proper intent,” but “we are going to be ready to receive them.”

When a Lutheran woman married to a Catholic man asked Pope Francis what she and her husband could do to receive Communion together, the pope said he could not issue a general rule on shared Communion, but the couple should pray, study and then act according to their consciences.

Religious liberty and Catholic identity are early topics of U.S. bishops' meeting in Baltimore

In the aftermath of the attacks in Paris, which at press time had claimed 132 lives and left hundreds more wounded, President François Hollande vowed to “be unforgiving with the barbarians from Daesh.” By Nov. 15 France had begun bombing raids on the ersatz capital of ISIS, Raqqa in Syr

“I am close to the people of France, to the families of the victims, and I am praying for all of them,” Pope Francis said.

Scores have been killed in numerous attacks across the city of Paris tonight. Reacting to the carnage in Paris, the Holy See called for a united and decisive response.