NEWS

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Newlyweds Raynold and Vanessa D’Sa travelled to Rome for their honeymoon with hopes of receiving a group blessing from Pope Francis. But their dreams more than came true when the pontiff blessed them both individually, taking their hands in his as they knelt before him.

ST. LOUIS - The Society of the Sacred Heart, an international congregation of women religious, has unified its provinces in Canada and the United States to form the Province of the United States-Canada.
Its headquarters will be based in St. Louis. The change became effective July 8.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has approved a major updating of the criminal laws of Vatican City State, including in areas dealing with child abuse and terrorism financing, and has ruled that any Vatican employee can be tried by the Vatican court for violating those laws.

TORONTO - St. Michael’s Hospital doesn’t want people to inject street drugs. But Toronto’s largest Catholic hospital believes some addicts should have access to a community-based safe injection site.

TIMBUKTU, Mali - In this ancient city that has become synonymous with the ends of the earth, the recent terrorism of Islamist extremists belies long years of peaceful Muslim-Christian coexistence.

Ottawa, Ontario - Pope Francis offered prayers for the people touched by the tragic July 6 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, said the Vatican secretary of state.

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has launched a petition in support of a bill now before the Senate to create Pope John Paul II Day.

MONTREAL - Quebec must "rise again" and recover its traditional faith, Pope Francis told Quebec Archbishop Gerald Lacroix, who recently visited Rome.

VATICAN CITY - Before saying a word publicly, Pope Francis made the sign of the cross and tossed a wreath of white and yellow flowers into the Mediterranean Sea in memory of the estimated 20,000 African immigrants who have died in the past 25 years trying to reach a new life in Europe.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Somewhere among the skateboarders, weightlifters, street artisans and moms pushing strollers at California's Venice Beach may be a high concentration of seriously ill Californians seeking alternative pain relief.