Wildfires

VATICAN – Pope Francis has named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 71, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to serve as the camerlengo or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church.

ROME – Sustainable development in rural areas is key to making poverty and hunger a thing of the past, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, told Pope Francis that a "human voice" was needed to speak up in the world of technology today.

VATICAN – Time, experience and reflection have "purified" liberation theology and its attempts to make clear what the Gospel says about social injustice, Pope Francis said.

Ever since Pope Francis announced in September that he was calling the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences to Rome for an unprecedented summit on sexual abuse, expectations have been mounting.

OTTAWA – Plans for a pro-life march in Toronto on the same day as the National March for Life in Ottawa is evidence the movement is “divided,” says Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast.

BANGKOK – Recent credible sexual abuse allegations in India and East Timor have underscored the fears of many in the church that clerical sex abuse is rife in South, Southeast and North Asia, which have a collective population of at least 120 million Catholics.

SAO PAOLO – Responding to news reports that the Brazilian intelligence agency was monitoring the Catholic Church, the secretary-general of the bishops' conference downplayed the idea that prelates would use the October Synod of Bishops on the Amazon to criticize their government's policies.

BUDAPEST, Hungary – In an effort to encourage Hungarians to have more babies, the prime minister of the country has announced that women with four children or more will be exempt from paying income tax for life.

CUCUTA, Colombia – The bishop of a Colombian diocese bordering Venezuela has said that “we can't be still” in face of the Venezuelan people's suffering, and noted that the Church has responded to the humanitarian crisis from its beginning.