WASHINGTON - The tragic taking of nine lives at a historically black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, brought an outpouring of solidarity, compassion and sorrow from around the country.

For many, the massacre at a black church in Charleston, S.C., is simply another mass shooting. But for African-Americans, church violence has historic dimensions.

NAIROBI, Kenya - As Good Friday services began here, Christian and Muslim leaders preached unity a day after a horrific terrorist attack at Garissa University College left 147 students dead, most of them Christians.

VATICAN CITY - Exactly 31 years after St. John Paul II personally forgave him for shooting and trying to assassinate him, Mehmet Ali Agca returned to the Vatican with a bunch of white roses and laid them at the late pope's tomb.

NEW YORK - New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan joined in mourning what he called the "brutal and irrational execution of two young, promising and devoted police officers" fatally shot Dec. 20 as they sat in their New York Police Department cruiser on a Brooklyn street.

ST. LOUIS - While the timing of the grand jury decision involving the Michael Brown shooting remained uncertain, Catholic schools in the Ferguson area were already prepared in case the ruling comes down with classes in session.

People need to be vigilant as they continue their daily routine, said Ottawa archbishop Terrence Prendergast in the wake of the attack on Parliament Hill that left a soldier and the shooter dead.

ST. LOUIS - Residents of Ferguson "are struggling to find peace in the chaos" that has followed the shooting death of an unarmed teen by a police officer and "as people of Christ, we are struggling to find direction in the unrest," said Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis.

FERGUSON, Mo. - Against the backdrop of demonstrations and unrest, some of it violent, that has followed the Aug. 9 killing of an unarmed black teenager by police in Ferguson, members of a local Catholic parish did perhaps the only thing they could — they prayed.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops president has written to the Archbishop of Moncton to offer condolences after the shooting deaths of three Mounties in the Maritime city June 4.

NEWTOWN, Conn. - Msgr. Robert Weiss, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, was at Sandy Hook Elementary School

VATICAN CITY - After 20 children and six adults were shot dead in Connecticut, Pope Benedict XVI offered

NEWTOWN, Conn. - As law enforcement officers tried to piece together the Dec. 14 shooting

WASHINGTON - The shooter brought 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches and a 9mm pistol with him to the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington Aug. 15.

According to an affidavit released by the FBI the next day, the gunman said, "I don't like your politics," just before he opened fire.

After a non-fatal shooting of one guard, the gunman, later identified as Floyd Lee Corkins, was subdued.

Corkins, 28, was charged Aug. 16 with assault with intent to kill while armed. He also is charged with the federal offense of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition. Corkins is from Herndon, Va., a Washington suburb. If found guilty on those charges, he could face a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment. He is being held in jail without bond.

Tony Perkins, CEO of the Family Research Council, said in a statement that "reckless language" created an atmosphere of violence. He referred to the Southern Poverty Law Centre's labelling of his organization as a hate group because of its opposition to same-sex marriage.

Founded in 1983, the Family Research Council advocates for public policy "that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family." Its motto is "Advancing Faith, Family and Freedom."

Perkins also shared his gratitude for 25 gay rights groups who had released a statement through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The GLAAD statement said, "Regardless of what emerges as the reason for this shooting, we utterly reject and condemn such violence."

Chick-fil-A has recently gone from being an innocuous sandwich shop to a political lightning rod after its chief operating officer, Dan Cathy, talked about his opposition to same-sex marriage. Chick-fil-A is a donor to the Family Research Council.

The Southern fast-food chain has just one location in Washington, in The Catholic University of America's student union. It has been closed for the summer and will reopen Aug. 27 when the new school year begins.

A spokesman for the university, Victor Nakas, told Catholic News Service that the school would increase security measures.

"We have professional staff available 24/7. We'll be giving our food court more visibility," said Nakas. He noted the school does not expect any incidents but would increase patrols to their student center regardless.