Speaking to about 500 members of the suburban Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama said he knows that Muslim Americans bear an outsized burden of religious bigotry in the U.S. and are called upon to condemn crimes committed by a few Muslims when the vast majority abhors violence.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, a top adviser to Pope Francis, has denounced the idea of “therapeutic abortions”—which are carried out because of fetal abnormalities—as a response to birth defects caused by the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is setting off ala

King Abdullah II of Jordan has warned that his country is now at a "boiling point" as Syrians, Iraqis and others fleeing violence in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings still seek shelter in the cash-strapped, oil-poor kingdom.

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican secretary for relations with states, attended the Syria Donors Conference in London Feb. 4 and said the Catholic Church would continue to help the region through its fundraising efforts.

“We work well together,” says Philippe Zribi, a Tunisian-born Jew whose family runs the butcher’s store that employs eight people: three Jews, three Muslims and two Catholics.

"Fear does funny things. Fear can lead us to lash out against those who are different. Or lead us to try to get some sinister other under control," Obama said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.