Vatican

When four graduate students at Ball State University took on an awareness campaign, they hoped it would have a global reach. Then, a global institution reached back.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, called on all nations to recognize the responsibility to care for and share water because it is a life-sustaining resource.

Australia’s five archbishops asked the Vatican about concerns raised whether the seal of confession includes only the sins confessed, not other information revealed in confession, and under what circumstances — specifically concerning an abuser — a priest could withhold absolution.

A Vatican delegation visited Aleppo following the end of the hostilities that left thousands dead and the city in ruins and met with Christian communities and pastors.

Governments need to report, condemn and address all forms of discrimination against Christians, including intolerance shown in the media and public debates, said a Vatican diplomat.

Congratulating Donald Trump for his victory in the U.S. presidential election, the Vatican secretary of state expressed hope that people would work together “to change the global situation, which is a situation of serious laceration, serious conflict.”

Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city and once known as its jewel, sits in rubble, but more tragically so do its people.

The pope expressed concern about the crisis during a 20-minute meeting with Kabila at the Vatican Sept. 26, a week after security forces dispersed opposition protesters in Kinshasa, killing 49 and injuring and arresting hundreds more. A Vatican statement said both sides had underlined the need for “a respectful and inclusive dialogue” among politicians, civil society representatives and religious communities.