Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan urged religious leaders to mold the characters of their followers to help stop the current crises facing the country.
He also noted that Christianity and Islam -- the country's two major religions -- did not preach violence, and those who kill should not be considered religious.
The Church of England on Friday confirmed that it has dropped its prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships becoming bishops -- but only if they agree to remain celibate.
Caracas Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino asked Venezuelans to pray for President Hugo Chavez as he battles cancer.
"In the first place, we all are going to pray for the health of President Chavez, who, as the vice president has said, is in a delicate condition," Urosa told news channel Globovision on Tuesday. "We are going to ask God that he strengthens him in these moments and, on the other hand, that the uncertainly is going to dissipate Jan. 10."
France's Catholic bishops are backing plans for a national demonstration against same-sex marriage legislation, which is expected to be approved by lawmakers later in January.
"I won't be participating -- not because I don't agree with the demonstration, but because I don't think I need to march when I have to make something known to the government and president," Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, president of the bishops' conference, told France's Le Figaro daily.
When she heard from the village chief that a 14-year-old girl was being forced to leave school and marry, Senegalese aid worker Constance Mbaye could think of only one thing to do.
"I gave the chief my telephone number and address and told him to tell the girl that if she could escape and make it to the city, I would take care of her," said Mbaye, a Catholic who once thought she wanted to be a nun.
The president of the Irish bishops' conference urged Catholics to make their views on abortion clear to politicians as the government considers legalizing abortion in limited circumstances.
In his Christmas message, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, reiterated the church's opposition to such legislation.
An influential Swiss abbot has attracted attention throughout Europe and has been welcomed by the future president of the Swiss bishops’ conference.
Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of 85-year-old Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad and has called for a late January meeting of the Chaldean synod of bishops to elect a new patriarch for the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The cardinal was a retired auxiliary bishop of Baghdad when, in December 2003, he was elected patriarch just eight months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He became one of the most notable voices of suffering Iraqi Christians and repeatedly pleaded with countries to take pity on Iraqi refugees and not send them back home.
Some have detected a sense of drift in Poland since John Paul's death. Secularization and human misjudgments have played a part.
Viewpoint: On one hand, the Obama administration defended bombing the Gaza Strip; however, it was also responsible for stopping the assault.
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