Pope Benedict and other Church leaders said it was the moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.

The Catholic Church may be the only organization that can counter the corporate greed fueling the over-prescribing of harmful psychiatric drugs to children and young people, said Dr. Barry Duncan, a clinical psychologist and director of the Heart and Soul of Change Project.

Social media is not only here to stay but should be recognized and used as a "new form of pastoral ministry," U.S. bishops were told Nov. 15 in their annual meeting.

The Vatican is preparing a document for all bishops' conferences offering guidelines for a "coordinated and effective program" of child protection . . .

The goal of ecumenism is full unity and the Catholic Church is firmly committed to pursuing that goal, Pope Benedict said.

Young educated Christian Palestinians would rather stay in their country than emigrate, if given the proper opportunities, according to results of a study commissioned by the Catholic Aid Coordination Committee, a consortium of Christian organizations in Jerusalem.

John Garvey, the new president of The Catholic University of America, told the U.S. bishops Nov. 15 at their annual meeting in Baltimore that he hopes the university can be a model of Catholic intellectual culture and also a resource for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Twenty cantors from U.S. Reformed Jewish congregations filled an ancient Roman basilica with the melodies of Psalms and other Scriptures in an attempt to share their heritage with a Catholic audience.

The Vatican is disturbed by reports from mainland China that government officials are forcing bishops to attend an illicit episcopal ordination.

Thanks to Pope Benedict, some of Rome's poor will enjoy a gourmet meal flavoured with shavings of a precious white truffle weighing more than one kilogram, reported Caritas Rome, the diocesan Catholic charity.