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REGENSBURG, Germany – Amid rising social unrest and an influx of Mideast migrants, German authorities – including Catholic Church officials – are facing criticism from ordinary people who believe their concerns are being ignored.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' visit to Egypt, a land increasingly marked by terrorist-led bloodshed, stands as part of his mission to inspire and encourage today's actors in theatres of violence to change the script and set a new stage.

MOUNT NEBO, Jordan – Christians of many denominations gathered for an Easter sunrise service atop Mount Nebo and prayed for peace and for Christians in Egypt, who were not celebrating as festively.

BEIRUT – In Easter messages, Catholic patriarchs in the Middle East deplored the widespread carnage and suffering, yet affirmed the presence of Christians in the region by calling upon their faithful to carry on with hope.

WASHINGTON – The next few months will determine whether Iraqi Christians can return to their homes in areas where Islamic State had been routed, according to Msgr. John E. Kozar, international president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.

IRBIL, Iraq – The Chaldean Catholic patriarch is supporting a more than 80-mile peace march during Holy Week to urge an end to violence in his homeland and throughout the Middle East.

Amid a backdrop of the historical Christian village of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plains in Iraq, Athra Kado passionately talked about protecting his Assyrian people as a soldier of the Nineveh Plains Protection Unit.

VATICAN CITY – Given the ongoing crises in the Middle East, North American, European and other Western nations will need to be more generous in coming to the aid of refugees and displaced peoples, said two prominent church leaders.

AL-UM-KUNDUN, Jordan – Catholic leaders have expressed concern for tens of thousands of Iraqi Christian refugees sheltering in Jordan as access to international aid tightens with crises deepening in the Middle East and elsewhere.

CAIRO, Egypt – A spike in attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt, spurred by a video threat from ISIS, has drawn the prayers and concern of advocates, who are urging global leaders to take notice.

OXFORD, England – A spokesman for Egypt's Catholic Church praised local Muslims for helping embattled Christians after a series of Islamic State attacks in Sinai.

AMMAN, Jordan – Jerusalem Bishop William Shomali, newly appointed to the Latin Patriarchate of Jordan, says that although Christians are a very small minority in Jordan, through the Catholic schools, hospitals and charities their presence is strongly felt in the communities.

MONTREAL – A Quebec priest best known in English Canada for composing the anthem for World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto, has released the second edition of a CD to draw attention to the plight of Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' private audience with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas this Jan. 14 will be a delicate diplomatic moment for the Holy See.

MOSUL, Iraq – As villages on IraqöÏÓãÊÓƵapp Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal.