JERUSALEM - Christians in the Middle East are called to help the light of peace emerge from the violence and anguish of war in much of the region, drawing inspiration from the resurrected Jesus, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal said in his Easter homily.

Released before Easter, Cinderella is the most surprising Hollywood movie of the year so far.

Second Sunday of Easter (Year B) April 12 (Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31)

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of Christian religious leaders of various churches signed onto a Holy Week call to end the death penalty in the United States.

“Bless you for playing Jesus, peace be upon him.”

VATICAN CITY - Don't be "halfway Christians," who accept Christ, but then start looking for excuses and stammering, "yes, but ..." when it is time to follow his way, Pope Francis said at a morning Mass.

VAUGHAN, ONT. - About 100 Pakistani Christians and supporters held a peaceful demonstration outside the Pakistani Consulate north of Toronto on Mar. 20 in response to the deadly bombing four days earlier of two churches in Lahore, Pakistan.

Over the past 48 years, generations of teens have been introduced to their faith at Teen Ranch Canada. Ann Stevens, who is now in charge of staff development at the Caledon, Ont., ranch and a former camper herself, is one of these people. She was 13 years old when she and her sister first came to the Christian camp in the early 1970s.

VATICAN CITY - Condemning deadly terrorist attacks against a Catholic and an Anglican church in Pakistan, Pope Francis said "the world is trying to hide" a wave of anti-Christian persecution in various parts of the globe.

For Canadians, the award season is not over just yet.

After the Grammys, the Academy Awards and other high-profile American awards shows have come and gone, there is still the JUNO Awards, which air on CTV March 15 from Hamilton, Ont. The JUNOs honour Canadian musicians and recognizes their artistic and technical achievements in music over the past year.

VATICAN CITY - Iraqi and Syrian refugees who have fled persecution in their homelands and the Palestinian Christians struggling to survive in the land of Jesus deserve the prayers and material support of Catholics around the globe, a Vatican official said.

AMMAN, Jordan - Christian leaders again called for help for Assyrian Christians as Islamic State militants stepped up their attacks against their towns in northern Syria.

AMMAN, Jordan - Christians in the Middle East welcomed the release of nearly 20 Assyrian Christians abducted by Islamic State militants in northeastern Syria, but expressed concern that more than 200 others remained in captivity.

AMMAN, Jordan - A prominent Syrian Christian political leader has called for U.S.-led coalition forces to use airstrikes to aid fellow Christian and Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State militants following reports of flagrant abductions and church burnings in northwest Syria.

WASHINGTON - Amid frequent reports of brutal killings and attacks by Islamic State militants, the director of an Islamic group in the United States strongly believes that people of faith must "collectively denounce" these actions of "stark evil" and "cruel barbarism."