OTTAWA – Canada’s bishops reiterated their opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana Wednesday, the same day that legal marijuana sales began across the country.

Coming to a location near you: OCS, the Ontario government’s latest retail venture, set to open its doors later this year.

OXFORD, England – Germany's bishops' conference expressed regret over a June 30 parliamentary vote to allow same-sex weddings, vowing to defend the "Catholic understanding of marriage."

VATICAN CITY – While some countries continue to debate the legalization of marijuana, its effects and impact on possible dependency need to be further understood, said the head of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

DUBLIN – Bronagh Matthews, an office manager in her 30s, lives on the rural edge of North County Dublin. She attended an all-girls Catholic high school and a Catholic college and still identifies as Roman Catholic.

The legalization of recreational marijuana elicits the usual snickers about pot and the people who use it. But it’s no laughing matter.

OTTAWA – Legalizing marijuana shows a “disregard” for public health and safety, Canada’s Catholic bishops charge.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona's Catholic bishops said they oppose an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in the state because it is harmful to children and families.

OTTAWA – As euthanasia and assisted suicide became legal in Canada opponents vowed to continue the fight to protect conscience rights of health-care workers and Catholic institutions and to oppose inevitable court challenges to widen the net of assisted killing.

It is possible that Canada’s Minister of Justice, Jody Wilson-Raybould, has a sense of humour or a real flair for irony, but odds are she meant what she said as the Liberal Government invoked time closure on May 4 and shut down debate on the assisted dying legislation.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines urged state lawmakers to pass legislation that would legalize medical marijuana.

CANTERBURY, England - Members of Parliament voted Tuesday (Feb. 3) to allow the creation of human embryos from the DNA of three people to try to eradicate a type of genetic disease that has caused the deaths of thousands of babies.