VATICAN CITY - The presidents of the bishops' conferences of Germany, France and Switzerland decided their preparation for the Synod of Bishops on the family could benefit from listening to theologians, biblical scholars and canon lawyers from all three countries, said the spokesman for the German bishops.

VATICAN CITY - Europe's Christians must speak with one voice to defend religious liberty and to ensure desperate migrants are treated fairly, Pope Francis said.

TLALNEPANTLA, Mexico - The president of the Latin American bishops' conference called Pope Francis' planned visit to Cuba an opportunity for the Church to play a larger role in a country experiencing reforms and re-embracing institutionalized religion.

VATICAN CITY - The most serious ailment the aged face and the greatest injustice they suffer is abandonment, Pope Francis said.

OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives intend to undertake extensive consultations and still meet the one-year deadline set by the Supreme Court of Canada when it struck down the laws against assisted suicide in the Carter decision Feb. 6.

And together we work wonders 

In a decision that might be unenforceable and is certainly misguided, the Law Society of Upper Canada has barred future graduates of a Christian law school from practising in Ontario. In a 28-21 vote, the law society branded aspiring lawyers from B.C.’s Trinity Western University persona non grata because students and staff agree to live by a moral code of conduct that, among other things, prohibits sexual intimacy outside of marriage.

TORONTO - Homelessness is solvable and even if the solution isn’t cheap every dollar spent to put homeless people in an apartment of their own saves $2.17 that would otherwise be spent on hospital emergency room visits, other medical services, shelters, prisons and policing, a new study has found.