LONDON – Catholic bishops have welcomed a unanimous vote by the House of Commons declaring atrocities committed by Islamic State as "genocide."

ROME – The same day Pope Francis brought 12 Syrian refugees to Rome from Greece, a merchant ship rescued 41 refugees, including a three-year-old child. They told human rights workers they saw as many as 500 others drown when the refugees' boat sank.

WASHINGTON – Six members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, including a young nun from Northern Ireland, are among the dead in the strongest earthquake to strike Ecuador since 1979.

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) – Two Nigerian bishops called on the government to hasten its efforts to free 219 school girls who were abducted by insurgents two years ago.

WASHINGTON – The American religious nonprofits challenging their participation in the contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act agreed with a U.S. Supreme Court proposal that such coverage be provided through an alternative health care plan without involving the religious employers in a legal brief filed with the court.

INDIANAPOLIS - A new Indiana law that protects unborn children by banning abortions based on potential disabilities, gender and race "reflects the love that God has for everyone by affirming that every human life is sacred," Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin said.

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Christian religious leaders across Asia called for Muslims to take a stand against Islamic extremists, seek reconciliation and forgiveness, and pursue a peaceful interpretation of religion in the aftermath of the Easter massacre at a public park in Pakistan.

KARACHI, Pakistan - The terrorist attack that killed more than 70 people in a Lahore park on Easter was not the first time that Christians in the Islamic country have been targeted, and observers say that, as things stand, it will not be the last time.

WASHINGTON - Mother Angelica "reflected the Gospel commission to go forth and make disciples of all nations" said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. bishops' conference.

ROME — Read the Vatican’s English translation of Pope Francis’ prayer last night at the conclusion of the Via Crucis service at Rome’s Colosseum.