Joshua J. McElwee

Yangon, Myanmar: Pope Francis called on the leaders of Myanmar's Buddhist clergy Nov. 29 to help the Buddhist majority nation, which is facing international outcry over its persecution of 600,000 minority Rohingya Muslims, "surmount all forms of misunderstanding, intolerance, prejudice and hatred."

Naypyidaw, Myanmar: Pope Francis attempted to sidestep a diplomatic minefield in meetings with Myanmar's political leaders Nov. 28, declining to specifically name the majority Buddhist nation's ongoing persecution of a minority Rohingya Muslim population but also calling on the quasi-democratic state to respect the rights of all ethnic groups.

Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to travel to Myanmar, landing here Nov. 27 for a three-day visit as the majority Buddhist nation is facing international outcry over its persecution of a minority Rohingya Muslim population.

Pope Francis will meet the head of Myanmar’s armed forces during his trip to the country next week, in a last-minute addition to a visit that comes as global attention has been drawn to the Myanmar military's persecution of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims.

One of the drafters of a landmark pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops that in 1983 offered a "strictly conditioned moral acceptance" of nuclear deterrence says it's time to reevaluate that document in light of Pope Francis' Nov. 10 statement that the "very possession" of nuclear weapons is to be "firmly condemned."

Pope Francis has created a new department in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State to handle matters relating to the Catholic Church’s various diplomatic representatives around the world, elevating the new structure to the same level as those that serve as the church’s internal and foreign ministries.

Human rights advocates and experts on the region want the pope to take on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya. But local church leaders have advised caution, for fear of reprisals.

A news roundup from the U.S. bishops' meeting, Pope Francis gets a Lamborghini, Cardinal Muller disagrees with the pontiff on liturgical translations, and Ireland prepares for a papal visit.

Pope Francis has openly denounced the continuing possession of nuclear weapons by various world governments, in what appears to be a departure from the Roman Catholic Church’s prior acceptance of the Cold War-era global system of nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction.

Pope Francis has directed the Vatican to stop selling cigarettes at its grocery store, halting a common practice whereby employees of the city-state could avoid paying Italian taxes on their tobacco.

In an interview with NCR Oct. 24, Cardinal Donald Wuerl said: "The council clearly said this was the responsibility of the bishops, these translations — in communion, obviously, with Peter."

The Vatican’s foreign minister has said the precariousness of the global political system has made the pursuit of ecumenism a "moral imperative."

The president of the Catholic bishops' conference of the war-torn countries of Sudan and South Sudan has written an open letter to his counterpart in Kenya, offering solidarity as that country is suffering outbreaks of violence amid voting in a re-run presidential election Oct. 26.

From the Rome-centric version of your weekly international edition of the daily briefing: Longest-serving Vatican ambassador to the U.N. at Geneva chronicles developments in the church's social teaching; Pax Christi will give its annual peace award in Rome for the first time; and the pope is set to speak to astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

On Oct. 29, Pax Christi International, hosting its annual award ceremony in Rome for the first time, will recognize Zodevite for its nonviolent campaigns against fracking in southern Mexico.

New collection of 13 years of statements made by the official diplomatic arm of the Catholic Church is a comprehensive, 872-page textbook providing bountiful evidence for how church has addressed some of the pressing issues of our era.

Pope Francis issues a public correction Oct. 22 to an article by Cardinal Robert Sarah about the changes the pontiff made last month to how the Catholic Church's liturgies are to be translated from the original Latin into local languages.

From a new Rome-centric version of Morning Briefing: Pope Francis explains why he speaks so freely in press conferences, the former head of the Vatican children's hospital is found guilty of abuse of office, and prisoners use a lunch with the pope to give their prison the slip.

Pope Francis says in a new book that he chooses to give interviews and to speak freely in press conferences as part of his desire to create a Catholic Church that understands how to dialogue with the people of today.

Cardinal Blase Cupich is not expected to leave the Archdiocese of Chicago for a new position at the Vatican, several sources close to the prelate say.