NATION/WORLD

Catholic leaders were thankful that death-row inmate Melissa Lucio was granted a last-minute stay of execution April 25, but they also said her sentence shows a failure in the use of capital punishment in this country and stressed that they would continue to pray for Lucio and her family and advocate on her behalf.

Bishop Christian Carlassare of Rumbek, South Sudan, expressed hope for conversion and healing, as a court sentenced a Catholic priest and three others for his shooting.

There is no such thing as a "good" or "bad" nation because wickedness can be found everywhere, Pope Francis said.

The majority of Supreme Court justices seemed to side with a former high school football coach April 25 who said his postgame prayers on the field -- that cost him his job -- amounted to private speech and not the public school's endorsement of religion.

Ukrainian Catholics in New York celebrated Easter with prayers that Christ's triumph over death will also signify victory over everything evil happening in their home country.

The capsizing of a small boat overloaded with passengers trying to illegally leave Lebanon is "the biggest proof of the terrible crisis" that the country is enduring as it continues to sink economically, said Carmelite Father Michel Abboud, president of Caritas Lebanon.

"It is happening." Three words in a text message from a friend in London alerted Paul Gavrilyuk that Russia's invasion on Ukraine had begun.

Three years after multiple bombings killed more than 260 people on Easter and lingering questions remain about those behind the attacks, Pope Francis appealed to Sri Lankan authorities to shed light on what happened.

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairman of its Committee on Migration have voiced their support for the Biden administration's "Uniting for Ukraine" initiative to welcome Ukrainian refugees coming to the United States.

Those who are called to be missionaries of mercy are entrusted with the important task of being the face and the voice of God's love to those in need, Pope Francis said.