VATICAN – Pope Francis’ skill at walking political and pastoral tightropes was put to the test in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

VATICAN – Pope Francis arrived in Bangladesh with words of praise for the humanitarian assistance the nation has given to Rohingya Muslim refugees, and urged greater action on their behalf from the international community.

While Canada resettled more than 35,000 refugees from Syria over the last 12 months and brought refugee processing times down to eight months for privately sponsored refugees from Lebanon, refugees in Ethiopia languish more than six years in the system and Church groups are discouraged from sponsoring Africans.

As the world focuses most of its attention on Syria, East Africa and its nine million refugees — 26 per cent of the world’s refugee population — is facing another wave of failed states, civil wars and ethnic cleansing.

VATICAN CITY – Leaders of the World Jewish Congress said that Pope Francis told them everyone needs to speak out against brutality and help ensure that migrants are better integrated.

ROME – Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, a close ally of Pope Francis, is trying to clarify a provocative warning he made that Europe was at risk of an “Islamic conquest” because it had squandered its Christian heritage.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Glued to the improvised screen set up on the patio of the Caritas house, the refugees yelled and they cried. But most of all, they cheered. They cheered for their two Congolese colleagues, Popole Misenga, 24, and Yolande Mabika, 28, who were competing in judo as part of the United Nations' Refugee Olympic team.

There is a global refugee crisis, but it’s not in the rich west, the international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service told The Catholic Register in an e-mail.

VATICAN CITY – A papal think tank is convening a summit to tackle the threat to global stability posed by today's refugee crisis.

VATICAN CITY – Assist and accompany refugees while working to build peace in the world, Pope Francis urged on the eve of World Refugee Day.

While many countries in Europe have sealed their borders to refugees, Germany has done the opposite. Last year, the country registered more than one million asylum seekers, including 425,000 from ravaged Syria.

Inspired by the Syrian crisis, a global fund for education for refugee children, announced at the World Humanitarian Summit, was welcomed by aid groups, including Catholic organizations.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is calling on Catholics to play a part in the “rebirth” of a united Europe that opens its doors to refugees.

Good fences make good neighbours, wrote Robert Frost. But don’t try telling that to the bishop of Eisenstadt, Austria.

ONTREAL – Seated in a quiet room, the Melkite Catholic archbishop of Aleppo, Syria, spoke slowly, in an almost muffled voice. His eyes sometimes ran astray, lingering on the buildings across the street in downtown Montreal. He detailed how Fouad Banna's family was torn apart when their house was destroyed by an attack a few months ago.