Mexican church leaders offered prayers and urged generosity after an earthquake struck the national capital and its environs, claiming more than 240 lives -- including at least 20 children trapped in a collapsed school.

As search and rescue operations continued in central Mexico, where more than 200 people died after a strong earthquake Sept. 19, Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims.

The head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization said Catholics "need a profound renewal of our catechesis."

Many commentators in American media see Russian President Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who rigs elections at home and abroad, silences political adversaries, rescinds civil rights and tirelessly plots to revive a Soviet-sized empire.

Pope Francis urged the bishops of Bolivia to faithfully guide their flocks as breakaway groups comprised of former priests and seminarians are gaining ground in the country.

After campaigning on a promise that he'd get rid of a program that helps a group of young migrants without documents remain in the country, President Donald Trump is working with Democrats to find a way to help the young migrants stay.

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, U.S. Army veteran Rocio Villanueva fell onto the stone of the unction where tradition holds that Jesus was laid out after his crucifixion and touched her head to the smoothed surface.

Peter Routsis-Arroyo, the CEO of the Diocese of Venice's Catholic Charities, said Hurricane Irma has brought normal life to a standstill in the entire Southwest Florida region.

A top U.S. bishops' committee urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to extend the renewal deadline for those covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who live in Texas and Florida, where communities have been hit hard by massive hurricanes.