Since the end of the nation's 26-year civil war, in which the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group from the ethnic Tamil minority, sought independence from ethnic Sinhala Buddhist majority Sri Lanka, the country has seen sporadic ethnic and religious violence, but the scale of Sunday's bloodshed recalled the worst days of the war,

Pope Francis prayed for victims of the attacks in Sri Lanka and called for peace, highlighting 18 conflicts around the world.

The executive branch headed by President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela “lacks legitimacy” but has de facto power, while Mr. Guaidó has legitimacy but not executive power. Venezuela in effect has two governments.

The Vatican described the retreat as “a propitious occasion for reflection and prayer, as well as an occasion for encounter and reconciliation.”

In a recent audience with children from Milan's Instituto San Carlo, Pope Francis said that God does not play favorites; it is humans who cause suffering and pain and that we must become aware of how we act toward others.

Does Catholic social teaching permit you to mount a machine gun at the door of your family’s fallout shelter? In 1961, this was not an idle question.