In recent weeks debate has erupted over whether there are two popes sharing authority in the church, or whether Francis is the sole successor of St. Peter.

The announcement is an astonishing twist in a political career that saw Boris Johnson serve as lawmaker and mayor, building a public profile built on Latin quips and rumpled eccentricity, while nurturing a poorly concealed ambition to lead his country.

The international community must eventually relocate the more than 60,000 Syrians trapped in the remote desert near the border to safe countries, said Doctors Without Borders, adding that Jordan cannot be expected to shoulder the responsibility alone.

While many may think Israel is a land of conflict, the hospital is but one example of inter-religious harmony, a pocket of peaceful co-existence.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from Washington state pharmacists who said they have religious objections to dispensing Plan B or other emergency contraceptives.The justices' order leaves in place rules first adopted in 2007 following reports that some women had been

"Social conservatism definitely played a role, not only with the bishop's pastoral letter, but more so because of the perceived liberalism of the PRI in general."