The pope's appeal came after what authorities have called the worst shipwreck on the Mediterranean this year.

The murder of 35-year-old officer Mario Cerciello Rega in Rome's Prati district July 26 and the subsequent arrest of two young American men sent shockwaves around the country.

For U.S. charities affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, the past year has tested the resilience of their fundraisers and the loyalty of their donors in unprecedented fashion.

As the Archdiocese of St. Louis released a list of names of archdiocesan clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor July 26, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson acknowledged that seeing the names "will be painful" and publishing them "will not change the past."

Some religious groups and religious liberty groups have applauded the commission including the Center for Family and Human Rights, a Catholic think tank.

An increasingly vocal band of advocates and experts says the Trump administration’s policies have failed to address many of the challenges faced by Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities abroad