The sexual abuse trial of Piero Alfio Capuana, the lay leader of the 5,000-member Catholic Culture and Environment Association, began in this small Sicilian city on Tuesday (Sept. 15), three years after the abuse allegedly took place.

The overcrowded, underequipped Camp Moria, had an official capacity for just 2,800. Its population had been as high as 20,000 refugees, a number reduced to about 12,000 at the time of the fires.

The pastoral, which is in English and Spanish, is titled "Transformed by Hope, Let Us Rebuild Our Tomorrow!" and addressed to all the people of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Catholic bishops and diocesan tribunals are making steady progress in implementing Pope Francis' reforms to make the annulment process quicker, but it is taking longer to achieve the pope's goal of making the process less expensive for couples.

Euthanasia legislation is headed for the Spanish Senate and, if passed, it would be a defeat for human dignity and would affirm a self-centered view of life that proposes death as a solution to one's problems, the Spanish bishops' conference said.

A Pew Research Center study released in September shows that teens' religious practice is less than that of their parents. The lessened observance cuts across all denominational lines.