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.

Bishop Alexander Pyone Cho has called for dialogue among all parties as violence escalates in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The announcement from Jeff Anderson & Associates included plans for the law firm to file suits in the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and San Francisco and the Dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, Oakland, San Jose and Santa Rosa.

A host of voices from throughout the religious spectrum condemned the Dec. 28 knife attack at the suburban New York City home of a Hasidic rabbi that wounded five, one of them critically.

Some 800 students met Pope Francis there Dec. 20; he was ready to listen to their questions and offer his reflections.