The new document on the economy was welcomed by many Catholic progressives as timely and dismissed by Catholic conservatives as misinformed.

"No one should go hungry, wherever they live in the world,” said the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in the first of a six-part essay series.

The new Maronite Patriarch cautiously welcomed the political movement’s potential for transforming the region. But warned: “We must remain vigilant.”

As flooding persisted in Bangkok, Thailand, Catholic university students and staff used a Jesuit residence as a base for relief efforts for flood victims.

Through Oct. 9 of this year, 469,967 cases of the disease have been reported, leading to 6,595 deaths.

David Cameronof Britain last month called the Act of Settlement, which bars from the throne members of the royal family who are married to Catholics, a “historical anomaly.”