An hourlong meeting April 11 between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro marked the first such personal encounter between the leaders of the two neighboring countries since 1958.The session held during the Summit on the Americas, in which Cuba participated for the first time,

A new Kansas law banning an abortion procedure that results in dismemberment of an unborn child "has the power to transform the landscape of abortion policy in the United States," said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.Gov. Sam Brownback signed the measure April 7 during a

Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, cardinal of the people, died April 8 in Montreal's Marie-Clarac Hospital.The 78-year-old cardinal, who served as Montreal's archbishop for 22 years, was diabetic, and his health had been in decline for several months. He was moved to palliative care March 24.Ca

Pope Francis called on the people of Colombia to work toward peace, and maintain hope that negotiations will succeed, according to the Vatican secretary of state.The pope urged them to "not lose energy or hope" at such a crucial time in the peace process and encouraged them "to contin

As the trial of Boston Marathon bombing defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to the jury April 6, the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts released a statement reiterating the church's teaching on the death penalty.If convicted, Tsarnaev could be sentenced to death or to life without the possibility of

More than 1,000 people packed into a tent in a refugee camp in Irbil, Iraq, for the Easter vigil Mass celebrated by Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni, former nuncio to Iraq and Pope Francis' personal representative to those forced to flee the fury of Islamic State militants.The cardinal, who brou

The president of the Kenyan bishops' conference called on Easter worshippers to commit themselves to praying for peace and security in their homeland after militants attacked a college campus days earlier.Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi also condemned the April 2 attack by the Somalia-based al-Sha

Nigerian prelates hailed the country's presidential election as a success for democracy and urged President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to make good governance, security and peace top priorities.The church leaders also said that while the election was largely peaceful, Nigerians must be patient as th

Indiana residents of all faith traditions can be assured the government will not infringe upon their constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, Gov. Mike Pence said as he signed into law a religious freedom bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly."With the passage of t

Hundreds of Christian religious leaders of various churches signed onto a Holy Week call to end the death penalty in the United States."Torture and execution is always a profound evil, made even more abhorrent when sanctioned by the government in the name of justice when other means of protecti