VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Because of continuing problems with his knee, Pope Francis has postponed his planned trip to Congo and South Sudan July 2-7, said the Vatican press office.
In a June 6 open letter, the Catholic bishops of Colorado asked those Catholic legislators "who live or worship in the state" and voted for Colorado's Reproductive Health Equity Act "to voluntarily refrain from receiving holy Communion."
Pope Francis expressed his solidarity and closeness with Catholics in Nigeria after gunmen stormed a church and reportedly killed at least 50 people during a Pentecost Mass.
Condemning the actions of gunmen who attacked a Catholic Church as parishioners gathered for Mass on the feast of Pentecost, Nigeria's Catholic bishops lamented that nowhere is safe in the country after the incident left dozens of people dead.
Without dialogue, respect for differences and a recognition that all people have struggles and dreams, divisions and even violence between people will continue, Pope Francis said.
A Catholic hospital's campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma, became the scene of the country's 233rd mass shooting of the year June 1, leaving four dead, including a doctor, who had treated the gunman for back pain.
Pope Francis sent well-wishes to Queen Elizabeth II as the reigning British monarch began the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of her coronation as well as the public celebration of her birthday.