Young Europeans must be a sign of unity and inclusion to counter today’s culture that seeks to divide humanity through violence and indifference, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis called on authorities in Sri Lanka to listen to the cries of their people after months of civil unrest culminated with protesters storming the residences of the country’s president and prime minister.

Christians are called to follow the example of the good Samaritan and not just look with compassion at those who suffer, but also draw near to them, Pope Francis said.

A national pro-life leader said President Joe Biden’s July 8 executive order on abortion “confirmed the White House is working to appease the abortion lobby to the detriment of women and their unborn children.”

“Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition” at the National Building Museum is one of two summer exhibits in Washington that delve into the history of a beloved place of worship visited by pilgrims and tourists alike.

The Second Assembly of Australia’s Plenary Council prepared to close July 8 after two days of catching up and passing almost all of the motions in its guiding document including a revised version of the section on the equal dignity of women and men in the Catholic Church.

Sister Simone Campbell, a longtime advocate for economic justice and health care policy, and late labor leader Richard Trumka received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a White House ceremony.

– A resolution that passed the European Parliament criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion and calling for inclusion in the Charter of the European Union of a universal right to abortion is part of a “radical political” agenda that threatens basic human rights and the cohesion of the union, said the general secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union.

The Vatican is now a formal party to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and has declared it intends also to formally join the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The July 4 mass shooting brought devastation to yet another community in the U.S. and such a tragic situation “has become shockingly commonplace in our country,” said the chairmen of three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.