As the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry met privately with Pope Francis on May 15 to discuss climate initiatives and other issues.

The pope encouraged all government efforts for helping families’ real needs, saying, “if families are not the focus of the present, there will be no future.”

On Sunday, Father Jan Korditschke will hold a ceremony at a Jesuit parish in Berlin for any couple, gay or straight, who seeks a blessing from the church.

A coroner in Northern Ireland ruled that a priest and nine lay Catholics who were shot dead by British troops almost 50 years ago were “entirely innocent” and their deaths were unjustified.

German Catholics will bless same-sex unions at about 100 different services all over the country this week.

Catholic chaplains in parishes across Germany plan to invite people to “blessing services for lovers” on and around May 10.