JUBA, South Sudan - Human rights in South Sudan are abused "on the battlefield and in peaceful areas," and much of the country is without effective governance, church leaders said.

VATICAN CITY - A French court has told authorities in Ploermel, France, to remove the small town's statue of St. John Paul II on claims the statue's placement in a public square violated the separation of church and state.

VATICAN CITY - Promoting sustainable development and mitigating climate change will take more than just global policies and agreements, it will also take a strong, unified stance from the world's religions, the secretary-general of the United Nations said at the Vatican.

TORONTO - With 100,000 pink and blue flags littered across the front lawn of Queen’s Park representing Canada’s annual abortion toll, a blogger and a Protestant civil rights organization announced a constitutional challenge to Ontario freedom of information laws that keep all abortion statistics secret.

BHUBANESWAR, India - Students at a Hindu-run school for the blind joined a nationwide outcry over the gang rape of a 74-year-old Catholic nun.

TORONTO - The long hours thousands upon thousands of volunteers spend repacking food and stocking shelves in their parish food banks aren’t solving the problem of hunger, claims a union-and-Church-backed campaign demanding governments raise social assistance and minimum wage rates.

OTTAWA - When the Conservative government approved the Northern Gateway pipeline June 17, it launched a debate likely to figure prominently in the 2015 election. 

ISEYIN, Nigeria - Several Catholic bishops warned the Nigerian government to be wary of the consequences of granting amnesty to Boko Haram, a sect that wants to impose strict Islamic law, and at least one said Mass attendance had dropped because the Islamist sect often targeted churches with bombs.

OXFORD, England - Russia's Catholic Church expressed surprise and concern after a wave of raids on its parishes and charities, part of a government clampdown on organizations with foreign links.

AMMAN, Jordan (CNS) -- As frightened Syrian refugees flood into Jordan and other nearby countries, U.N. officials at a donor conference in Kuwait appealed to the international community for desperately needed funding for victims of the 22-month crisis.

OTTAWA - An Ottawa think tank suggests enlisting parents to help schools, rather than government legislation, is the better route in addressing the problem of bullying.