Hong Kong's legislature suspended meetings Thursday as leaders considered their next steps following violent clashes between police and protesters opposed to a bill that would allow suspects to be tried in mainland Chinese courts.

A prominent African cardinal has called for restraint in Sudan, as the ruling junta cracks down on peaceful protesters in the capital city, Khartoum.

A group of Philippine mothers and children facing imminent deportation from Israel are finding some solace in their faith, with weekly prayer meetings and counseling from their parish priest and nuns.

Salvadorans have high hopes for the new president’s leadership. El Salvador suffers one of the world’s highest murder rates, and a third of its population lives below the poverty line.

Pope Francis has signed decrees which would advance the sainthood causes of women martyrs of the Spanish Civil War and of the first African-American diocesan priest in the United States, Father Augustus Tolton.

As has been the case for years now, a small group of protesters dismissive of the U.S. bishops' efforts to enact reforms in their handling of sexual abuse cases gather outside the Baltimore hotel where they conduct their general meeting. This spring is no different.