Calling Israeli Christians who are trying to distance themselves from their Arab identity a “small marginal minority,” the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and the Justice and Peace Commission of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem reaffirmed their identity as Palestinian Arabs.

Caritas Chile has continued moving materials into an area of northern Chile hit hard by an April 1 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks, which have prevented some people from sleeping in their homes.

Repeated references to persecution of Christians, “usually referring only to what Christians suffer at the hands of criminals claiming to be Muslims, plays into the hands of extremists,” said Catholic leaders in the Holy Land.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace said he welcomed the possible release of a Senate intelligence committee report that says the CIA used torture techniques in interrogating some terror suspects after 9/11.

In their first overseas trip in three years, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, met April 3 with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Concerned with widely held negative perceptions about people who live in poverty, advocates attending the National Poverty Summit pledged to reframe how Americans see their poor neighbours and to work to build stronger relationships across economic classes.

Pope Francis called together the heads of all Vatican offices to discuss how they could integrate into their work the teaching of his apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”).

While it may be a huge challenge, the Catholic Church must find ways to offer support to families with a child who has autism, include people with autism in church activities and fight the prejudice surrounding the learning disability, a Vatican official said.

Through the sacrament of matrimony, married couples are called to be living icons of God’s love in the world, Pope Francis said; and when they fight — and all couples do — they don’t have “to call the United Nations,” but find simple words and gestures to say they are sorry.

Bringing the face of Jesus to the poor is an experience a group of Lebanese 10th graders will long remember about this Lent.