The pastoral letter from Mexico's bishops addresses centuries-old divisions over ethnicity and the often strained relationship between church and state.

Local NGO's report that inhabitants of a Christian village were killed when floodwaters were diverted into their community.

New talks between Israel and Palestine, despite obstacles, remain a source of hope.

A visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to a church in China is not a sign that the secretive communist regime’s stance toward religion is softening.

The controversy surrounding a bishop in a diocese outside of Beijing illustrates the problems facing Chinese Catholic communities.

A spokesman for Cardinal Godfried Danneels said the transcript of a meeting in April with a victim of clerical sexual abuse has been taken out of context.