BANGUI, Central African Republic  – Christian and Muslim leaders in the Central African Republic have accused foreign states of complicity in a May 1 gun and grenade attack on a Catholic Mass and announced coordinated prayers for peace and reconciliation in its churches and mosques.

VATICAN – The baptismal font is a tomb in which a person dies to sin, and it is a womb through which a person is born to new life in Christ, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, adding among other things a specific reference to the office's responsibility for promoting a deeper reflection on the role of women in the church and society.

VATICAN – With the help of the Migrant and Refugee Section of the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, eight bishops' conferences in Latin America have joined efforts to assist Venezuelans in transit through or settling in their home countries.

While some critics saw the media's sudden fixation on papal fashion as frivolous and a way of trivializing the true meaning behind elegance in ecclesial dress, one top art curator said he saw this spotlight as actually raising "deeper, more profound considerations – namely, the role that dress plays in the Catholic Church and the role that the Catholic Church plays" within the world of fashion's imagination.

UNITED NATIONS – Faith-based organizations are uniquely able to care for migrants and refugees because they employ a holistic, person-centered approach that respects the human dignity of each individual, and they have established networks throughout the world, according to panelists at a May 3 United Nations event.

WASHINGTON – Jesuit Father Patrick Conroy, chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives who said he had been forced to resign, was reinstated to his post by House Speaker Paul Ryan May 3.

ROME – Sharing the Gospel means being a witness to love, responding to questions and patiently walking alongside people, not dictating how and when they take the next step, Pope Francis told members of the Neocatechumenal Way.

VATICAN – The Catholic Church needs to seek the input, commitment and talents of all of its members if it is to be truly catholic and to evangelize effectively, said a new document from the International Theological Commission.