The pope asked Assad "to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected with regard to the protection of the civilians and access to humanitarian aid."

Those killed were mostly women and children. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday.

The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said that multiple sources reported that tens of civilians were shot dead on Monday.

“I am very aware that my ethnicity is dying.”

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., who served from 1983 to 2008 as the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, died in Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 26, just four days shy of his 88th birthday. • In a report released on Nov. 30, Caritas Europa charged that austerity policies have left 120 million p

Deep inside Syria, a bishop worked around the blurred edges of international law to save the lives of more than 200 people.