Ottawa - A new petition inspired by a similar effort in 1975 that rallied the support of more than one million Canadians is calling on the federal government to grant full legal protection to unborn children.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- An Australian appeals court upheld the conviction of Cardinal George Pell on five counts of sexually assaulting two choirboys more than two decades ago.

BANGUI, Central African Republic - Catholic priests whose villages have been attacked have taken to Facebook to express outrage and appeal for help.

ThereöÏÓãÊÓƵapp no doubt that Archbishop Philip PococköÏÓãÊÓƵapp stand against Planned Parenthood was a defining moment in his episcopal career.

OXFORD, England - A Belgian bishop said the president of the bishops' conference urged Catholics to respect a court judgment against him for failing to act on allegations of abuse.

BOSTON - The parents of Martin Richard, the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombings two years ago, are asking that the death penalty be taken "off the table" for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

WARSAW, Poland - Catholic and Orthodox archbishops in Ukraine appealed for national unity against pro-Russia separatists as calls mounted for the United States to help arm Ukrainian forces.