VATICAN CITY - Gathering at "a time of severe tension and conflict," particularly in the Middle East, 24 Catholic and Muslim leaders and scholars urged dialogue to promote greater respect and understanding and condemned all acts of violence committed in the name of religion.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis condemned the "absurd violence" being used against Christians in several countries and called on people of good will everywhere to take up the cause of religious freedom.

In cases of unprovoked violence the use of reasonable force may be justified to stop an aggressor.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis opened a three-day summit on the violence and persecution underway in the Middle East, saying arms trafficking was the root cause of many problems in the region.

TORONTO - Fr. Darren Dias asks Christians to learn from history and become agents of reconciliation amidst modern religious violence.

Despite a distressing RCMP report on violence against native women and the recent murder of a female aboriginal teenager, calls for a public inquiry are misguided. Canadians don’t need an expensive, long-winded, politically driven talk-fest on native issues. The facts are already in. It’s time now for leadership and action. 

Toronto - Legal scholar Iain Benson rejects New Atheism’s teaching that religion leads to division and violence. Benson, a lawyer and lecturer, spoke to an audience from the legal and Catholic community on how difference, including a difference in religion, can be a social good. 

JERUSALEM - Catholic leaders in the Holy Land called for an end to the cycle of violence and criticized Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and its collective punishment of Palestinians.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis expressed his fears over increasing violence in Iraq and prayed for peace, security and reconciliation in the country.

VATICAN CITY - On rickety boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea or on trains through Mexico or desert paths crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, a huge increase in the number of children traveling alone to flee war or violence calls for urgent action by the international community, a Vatican official said.

Victor Boutros was on Parliament Hill unraveling the misapprehended connection between violence and poverty.

TORONTO - Amid the violence and turmoil plaguing Ukraine, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said one must remember to love thy neighbour.

JUBA, South Sudan - When South Sudan's fledgling democracy suddenly unraveled in December, what started as political infighting within the country's ruling party quickly ripped along ethnic fault lines, often pitting neighbours against each other according to the tribal markings on their faces.

DUBLIN - The Irish cannot afford to be complacent about violence, even though they have lived with a peace agreement for 15 years, said Ireland's most senior Catholic leader.

It is very difficult to make sense of the latest violence in the Middle East. And as we embark on another Advent season, it makes one wonder about the long-term viability of Christian communities in the Church’s birthplace in the Middle East, whether Palestine, Israel, Syria, Iraq or elsewhere in the region.