MELBOURNE, Australia – Proposals to legalize euthanasia in the Australian state of Victoria are based on “misplaced compassion,” the local bishops said.

ROME, Italy – India's Catholic bishops have strongly condemned a violent police disruption of a Good Friday service at a small parish in the south of the country.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis sent a letter to the president of Brazil, apologizing for his inability to visit in 2017 and encouraging the leader's attention to the country's social issues.

VATICAN CITY – Time Magazine has released its 2017 list of the world’s 100 most influential people, and Pope Francis is among the leaders highlighted by the publication.

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian police on Sunday arrested 13 people who were allegedly planning attacks against Christians and public institutions in the country.

CAIRO, Egypt – Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint near an historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Egypt, killing one and wounding four.

STOCKHOML, Sweden – A Swedish midwife who refused to perform abortions has lost another court decision, but her supporters say the court neglected her freedom of conscience.

MINYA, Egypt – After two bomb attacks on worshippers at Coptic Orthodox churches on Sunday, the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of Minya has announced it will celebrate Easter without the typical festive accoutrements.

VATICAN CITY – A new initiative in Italy will allow blood donors to receive a free ticket to the Vatican Museums.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Pope Francis has dismissed a New Hampshire priest from the clerical state, after the priest was convicted of stealing some $300,000 from the local diocese, a hospital and a deceased priest's estate.