As tensions rise again with the approach of a Nov. 12 deadline for the creation of a unity government, Bishop Kussala has a message for the conflict-weary people of South Sudan. “The church is here to stay,” he said. “We serve the people; we don’t run away.”

A Catholic priest who disappeared from his family home was found dead in a shallow grave in southeastern Kenya a week after he was reported missing.

The Catholic Church in Kenya is promoting a variety of energy-saving stoves with a view to stopping forest destruction and climate change.

With thousands of people killed and almost 1 million of the country's 4.6 million people displaced in the past six years, trauma is rampant throughout the former French colony.

“My election as pope did not convert me suddenly,” Pope Francis said, “so as to make me less sinful than before. I am and I remain a sinner. That’s why I confess every two weeks.”

For nearly two decades, Nigeria has been struggling to reform its congested prison system. Courts grapple with huge backlogs of cases, compounding delays in the delivery of justice and contributing to prison overcrowding.