Signs Of the Times

Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics to revive the “authentic spirit” of Vatican II by re-proposing the church’s teachings to an increasingly Godless world.

Radical Islamists who seized northern Mali earlier this year are imposing an extremist version of Shariah law.

People unaffiliated with any religion constitute nearly 20 percent of the American public, making them almost as numerous as Catholics.

Tonight we are breaking the silence,” said Regino Martínez, the Jesuit priest who is head of Solidaridad Fronteriza, a human rights and immigration organization in the Dominican Republic. “Tonight, we lose the fear.” On Oct. 4 he led a candlelight procession to the aptly nam

Bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez, 48, of Chile resigned on Oct. 9 as a Vatican investigation into his alleged sexual abuse of a minor continued. • The Meaningful Chocolate Company, a fair trade enterprise in Great Britain, was forced to redesign its seasonal packaging after being advised

Both major candidates have kept Afghanistan on the rhetorical back burner.

Caritas Spain urged the Spanish government to consider the “sinister concrete implications” of the country’s economic crisis.

Peace talks were scheduled to begin on Oct. 5 in Norway, between the Colombian government and members of the F.A.R.C. guerrillas.

Responding to hurricanes “goes right to the heart of what the church does because storms don’t just destroy buildings, they…destroy families and communities.”

In just over two decades Niger has cut its rate of infant mortality in half, highlighting the benefits of universal free health care.