Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, announced July 31 that the university and its Institute for Black Catholic Studies will become the new hub for the advancement of sainthood causes of African-American Catholics.

Security forces were placed on full alert in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao following a deadly suicide bomb blast in Basilan province that killed 10 people.

The pope met Aug. 1 with about two dozen European Jesuits currently involved in the order's formation process. They had been talking about communication and one asked Pope Francis how they can meaningfully communicate with unemployed young people when, as Jesuits, they will never know what it means to be without a job.

The accusations against Archbishop McCarrick, a former cardinal and retired archbishop of Washington, "reveal a grievous moral failure within the church," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.

The Catholic Standard published a question-and-answer interview July 31 with Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl about the next steps for the archdiocese in light of the sexual abuse allegations made against Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, a former cardinal and retired archbishop of Washington.

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.

India's Catholic Church has led a chorus of protest over a demand to ban the sacrament of reconciliation from the chairwoman of the National Commission for Women.

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.

A prominent Catholic blogger and activist ended a two-week hunger strike in a Vietnamese prison after she met with visiting U.S. diplomats.

Ambassador Callista Gingrich joined Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for relations with states, and other speakers at an event to discuss the Vatican's perspective on and fight for religious freedom around the world.