Catholic groups have collected and are distributing aid for thousands of people affected by a deadly earthquake that struck Lombok, Indonesia's popular tourist island.

As Europe continues to struggle with migrant and refugee arrivals, Catholics in the French capital are heeding Pope Francis' call to come to their aid by providing practical and spiritual help to the newcomers.

One night in a small town in Mexico, armed men arrived at Maria's house. Pregnant and with her young daughter asleep in the next room, she wasn't sure if she should rush to get her 2-year-old or run for her life.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke about ongoing threats to religious freedom and what can be done to halt them at a conference held July 30 at the Department of Justice.

In a July 30 statement, the patriarchate said the law is a "cause of great concern" because the rights of Palestinian citizens, who make up 20 percent of Israel's population, are not protected by the law.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the Vatican's family and laity office, spoke as the U.S. church hierarchy has come under fire from ordinary American Catholics outraged that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's misconduct with men was apparently an open secret in some U.S. church circles.