WASHINGTON - The Catholic Church's strong stance against pornography is based on church teaching that the human body should be respected and every person has a God-given dignity.

MUNICH - A German Catholic Church leader condemned an arson attack that destroyed a reception centre for asylum seekers.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - An outpouring of sympathy and prayer washed over Tennessee for the victims of the July 16 shootings that left four Marines and the shooter dead.

In a nation where violence is no stranger to its youth, a group of Salvadoran teenagers stand as a hope for their country’s future.

VATICAN CITY - The deep hurts that spouses inflict on each other cause great suffering to their children and, in some cases, lead to a separation that is "morally necessary" to protect spouses and children from more serious forms of violence, Pope Francis said during his general audience in St. Peter's Square June 24.

MANCHESTER, England - Bishops across the European Union are calling on member states to be generous toward tens of thousands of migrants flooding across the Mediterranean.

JERUSALEM - Druze, Muslims and Jews joined thousands of Christians in a demonstration in Galilee three days after an arson attack seriously damaged the Benedictine Church of the Multiplication.

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.

VATICAN CITY - In the wake of international criticism over Moscow’s role in ongoing violence in Ukraine, the United States has called on Pope Francis to take a stronger stance on the conflict in his meeting with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, today.

BUKAVU, Congo - Bishops from eastern Congo criticized the failure of their government and the United Nations to act against "genocide, jihadist fundamentalism and Balkanization" in the country, which is widely considered Africa's most Catholic.

TORONTO - A simple idea that has helped hundreds of women who face domestic violence and abuse is down to its last few weeks unless Ontario’s provincial government comes up with $70,000 per year to keep it going.

By Joy Smith, Catholic Register Special

On New Year’s Day, Pope Francis delivered his annual World Day of Peace message that passionately called for an end to modern-day slavery. The title, “No longer slaves, but brothers and sisters,” is taken from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon. Pope Francis noted that “slavery is rooted in a notion of the human person which allows him or her to be treated as an object” and highlighted the many forms of modern-day slavery, including “persons forced into prostitution, many of whom are minors.”

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper blasted a series of cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as “blasphemous” but also condemned the “mad and bloodthirsty” extremists who opened fire at a Texas exhibit of the cartoons.

OTTAWA - As Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) Canada marks its 10th anniversary this year, it is making an urgent appeal for continued help for imperilled families under Islamic State siege in Iraq and Syria.