Ucanews.com reported the cardinal's questions and plea came a day before the Philippine Catholic bishops issued a statement condemning the killings across the country.

"These alleged actions, when committed by any person, are morally unacceptable and incompatible with the role of a priest, bishop or cardinal," Cardinal O'Malley said.

Facing child trafficking allegations at one of its homes for unmarried mothers in India, the Missionaries of Charity said the order condemns the actions of individuals involved and stressed that these are unrelated to the order.

A front-page article published July 16 detailed the alleged abuse of two seminarians in the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, by then-Bishop Theodore E. McCarrick.

The Vatican's nuncio to the United nations welcomed the "inclusion and added emphasis on the right to family unity and to family life" in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

The religious order said approval of the pipeline violated the sisters' right to practice their faith under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and they asked that it be rerouted.

Outspoken Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is to curb his tirades against the Catholic Church after agreeing to a moratorium on statements deriding priests and bishops.

A court in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi sent a Missionaries of Charity nun to 14 days of judicial custody July 5 after she was arrested on charges of child trafficking.

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged U.S. senators July 6 not to support using the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion as a litmus test for confirming judicial nominees.

The juvenile was charged with arson in the first degree, according to a June 20 news release from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, he was 13 at the time of the offense.