In a message read in churches nationwide Aug. 16, the bishops said: “Blood has been shed in an active confrontation, leaving many physical and moral victims, including peaceful and innocent people of all ages.”

Archbishop Polak said the film showed required child protection standards were still not being observed in the Polish church.

Catholic clergy in Africa are concerned that there could be a rise in violence and insurgency during the pandemic, leading to more political and civil disruption.

The Commission of Bishops' Conferences of the European Union are calling for a "shared European responsibility" in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

In France, the northern sanctuary of Lisieux, burial place of the St. Therese and her parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, closed its doors to pilgrims March 17, complying with a 14-day government curfew on all nonessential movement.

With 55% of parishes having closed, attendance at Mass in the Netherlands is continuing to drop, with "peak secularization" yet to come as even more parishes close.

The "ever-more-complex situation of families in France" had made compiling Catholic documents "sometimes difficult," especially with baptisms.

Msgr. Andre Massinganda, deputy secretary-general of the Congolese bishops' conference, told Catholic News Service that the church was concerned with "how to bring peace to those areas where war continues, and how to end the killings and massacres so people can live safely again."

Catholic groups involved in climate change advocacy are frustrated over lack of progress in wake of UN climate talks in Spain.

"The synodal way is a 'sui generis' process, and not a synod or a particular council, and there'll be no separate German process, without Rome, on questions touching the universal church.