Bronwen Dachs

Everybody on Madagascar's east coast has a story about the night Cyclone Batsirai struck. The storm left 120 people dead and destroyed the homes and businesses of many families.

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, died in Cape Town Dec. 26 at the age of 90.

Travel bans on southern Africa are based on "a deep-seated racism" and have a severe impact on the poor in the region.

Conflict is driving four countries — Yemen, South Sudan, Burkina Faso and northeastern Nigeria — into famine, the World Food Program warned.

The Zimbabwean government's crackdown on dissent terrifies people, the country's bishops said in a pastoral letter that also noted alarming levels of corruption.

Catholic aid agencies are protecting their staff's safety as they increase their worldwide efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. Catholic dioceses, too, are following protocols issued by their government health ministries.

South African bishops called for action to end violence against women after a spate of killings and rapes sparked outrage in a country with one of the world's highest murder rates.

Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe to independence from Britain in 1980 and then crushed his opposition during nearly four decades of rule, always liked to be seen as a devout Catholic.

Africa's bishops pledged to work together to ensure that the continent's resources serve development and peace of all people.

If given appropriate support, Africa's young people can be the engine to propel the continent's growth.

The church in Africa needs courageous Catholics who will become involved in the continent's challenges, said participants at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

Helping children who lost their parents when a pair of cyclones hit Mozambique is among the most difficult work in the aftermath, an aid worker said.

The number of executions worldwide has dropped by almost one-third, Amnesty International said in its latest review of the death penalty.

Two boys at a Catholic boarding school in Zimbabwe are among the more than 300 people killed in the aftermath of a cyclone that slammed into Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in mid-March. Officials fear the death toll from the cyclone could reach 1,000.

As the Central African Republic's government and the 14 militia groups that control most of the country meet for peace talks, the country's bishops called on the United Nations to lift the arms embargo imposed on the nation.

Visits by church leaders to Ebola-affected communities in Congo are helping prevention efforts, while the urban nature of the latest outbreak of the deadly virus is of greatest concern, the country's bishops said.

While globalization at its best can enable the sharing of spiritual and material riches, it also can lead to huge destruction, the bishops of Europe and Africa said after a meeting in Portugal.

Jacob Zuma's resignation as president of South Africa is long overdue, the country's bishops said, noting that his presidency fostered corruption and dereliction of duty at all levels of government.

A Catholic official in Zimbabwe said church leaders' experience working together "will serve us well" as they tried to decide how to respond to the military seizing power.

Conflict and drought are threatening more than 20 million people in four countries with the prospect of famine, and the U.N. has called this the largest humanitarian crisis since the world body was formed.