Signs Of the Times

A gang truce has led to a significant drop in El Salvador’s homicide rate.

In an letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on April 11, Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, urged the Obama administration to expedite a review of U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, so the president can sign it in ear

The idea is that when the public is informed, violations like this are far less likely to be repeated.

The General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on April 3 to approve a historic treaty.

Church reconstruction is moving forward at a faster pace after months of discussions.

Pope Francis said he wanted “to act decisively concerning cases of sexual abuse.”

Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they do not want wisdom from the Bible.

South Korea’s bishops on April 5 asked Pope Francis to act as a peace mediator amid the escalating nuclear tension in the Asian peninsula. “The dominant sentiment among the South Korean population isn’t so much fear, but concern and bitterness for the current situation,” said

Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and legendary opponent of South African apartheid, was awarded the 2013 Templeton Prize on April 4. • In a letter on March 22, Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston urged Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to support the

“There are going to be hard choices along the way,” the president said.