French deputies began to work on the proposed “end of life” bill May 27, which, as it now stands, promises to be extremely permissive regarding euthanasia and medically assisted suicide.

A recent decision by officials in El Salvador to remove a painting of Saint Óscar Romero from a prominent location in the nation’s main airport and move it to a more secluded area, generated backlash from Catholics and opinion leaders, who have been critical of how the nation’s government is treating national symbols while trying to rebrand the country as a safe and tourist-friendly destination.

Recognizing that the Christian churches continually are called to grapple with new moral issues and that reaching different conclusions can complicate the search for Christian unity, a commission of Catholic and Anglican bishops and theologians has been studying how their traditions make decisions and what they can learn from each other.

The social and political problems plaguing modern society can be resolved only by allowing the Holy Spirit to heal humanity’s inner turmoil, Pope Francis said.

Growth, undeniable tensions and “a deep desire to rebuild and strengthen” the body of Christ have emerged as key themes in the latest synod report for the Catholic Church in the U.S.

As tensions and the number of victims mount in southern Gaza Strip, Catholic Relief Services said it has not been able to get humanitarian aid through to the southern Gaza Strip since May 6 and it no longer has any supplies left in its warehouses in that area, said Jason Knapp, CRS country director for Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza.

Christians and Buddhists must be willing to work together to “bring a ray of hope to a desperate humanity,” Pope Francis said.

Caritas Australia mobilized relief efforts to aid victims of a horrific landslide that devastated remote communities in Papua New Guinea.

Pope Francis “never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others,” that is considered vulgar in Italian, the Vatican press office said.

Living out the missionary dimension of the faith never means trying to forcefully convert people to Catholicism, Pope Francis said.