A Catholic priest has appealed for more and better shelters for victims of a volcanic eruption in the Philippines after criticizing a local government response.

Catholic leaders in Germany have compiled responses from lay Catholics in areas related to who holds power in the church, sexual morals, the role of priests and the place of women in church offices in preparation for an upcoming synodal assembly to debate church reforms.

Pope Francis told a group of U.S. bishops their job is to step back from partisan politics and help their faithful discern based on values.

Protecting human life is the "preeminent" social and political issue, Pope Francis said.

The agreement signed on January 13 by the political leaders of South Sudan could bolster the chances of a papal visit to that conflict-ridden country.

The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic are calling upon all political leaders to work toward more open democracy and government.

The ruling comes in a case filed by Dr. Roger Kligler, a retired physician from Cape Cod who has advanced prostate cancer, and Dr. Alan Steinbach, who treats terminally ill patients.

Bishops from U.S. Region VIII -- North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota -- met the pope on the first day of their "ad limina" visit.

The Catholic Church runs some 54,000 educational institutions in the country, and at least half of them get financial aid from the state.

The statement from Archbishop Gomez comes five days after the U.S. launched a drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.