CAPE TOWN, South Africa - A South African archbishop has urged the government to act against xenophobic attacks, which have increased as general elections approach.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was always a friend to South Africa's poor, said church leaders who took part in a two-week mourning period that culminated in her burial as a national hero.

VATICAN – If the Catholic Church at every level – and governments, too – would listen to young people and give them a voice in decision-making, they could unleash great potential, said two African young adults.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Following its own findings of severe corruption in government, the South African Council of Churches called for the dissolving of parliament and new general elections.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Every time Jose Camara thinks his ministry is completed, somebody else needs a statue of Our Lady of Fatima to spread the devotion.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Corruption must be rooted out at every level of government in South Africa, said the country's Catholic bishops.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – After an outburst of attacks on property owned by foreign nationals in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, and neighboring Johannesburg, the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference justice and peace commission called for restraint.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – South Africa's Jesuit Institute said it is appalled at government actions that led to the deaths of 94 mentally ill patients in Gauteng province, and the bishops' justice and peace commission called for compensation to affected families.

PRETORIA, South Africa – While countries around the world such as Canada, Germany and Japan have passed legislation to legalize physician assisted suicide, one has ruled to reject it: South Africa.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Each week, 2,000 women ages 15-24 are infected with HIV in South Africa.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – South Africa's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court could encourage a large-scale African exodus from the court and entrench impunity, warned the justice and peace commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – As students and police clash at South African universities, with many campuses closed because of protests against fee increases, Catholic students called on the government to increase its education budget.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – South Africa's Jesuits have warned that pursuing charges against the finance minister could harm the country's economy and have devastating effects on the poor.

A South African cardinal who recently rejected calls for the Catholic Church to apologize to gay people has said the abortion rate among black women in the U.S. is “a genocide” and added: “Isn’t this something we should be apologizing for?”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – War rhetoric from South African political leaders could incite election violence and civil war, a South African bishop warned.