The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development has issued a strong statement on the economic crisis, urging the Bush administration and Congress to focus on finance as a moral issue.

The Church of England and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England have expressed concerns about a government amendment to the Public Order Act 1986 creating a new offence of incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation.

The United States and its leaders must work together across party political divides to bring about a responsible transition in Iraq that ends the war at the earliest opportunity and minimizes the loss of lives, American and Iraqi.

US Catholic Bishops have said that while the prospect of Iran developing nuclear weapons is unacceptable, in the absence an immediate threat, the USA and other nations must pursue a diplomatic solution to the present confrontation.

Roman Catholic bishops have warned that attempts at constitutional reform in Venezuela by President Hugo Chavez restrict the rights of citizens and grant too much power to the State with a "president who is re-elected indefinitely".

Catholic bishops in the Philippines have renewed their attacks on corruption following reports that staff of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who now faces a new impeachment bid, have bribed congress representatives, governors and mayors.

Recognising the needs of priests from overseas and those ministering to increasingly migrant-based congregations, the Catholic Church in England and Wales has introduced a new course specifically for them at the northern seminary of Ushaw in Durham.

Irish Catholic Bishops have joined worldwide human rights oranisations in calling on the President of Zimbabwe - who was educated as a Catholic - to change direction and respect the will of the people for change.

Presidents of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the world’s leading industrial countries have written to the Group of 8 leaders to urge them to take “bold action on global poverty” ahead of the G8 summit in Germany this week.

Following up their critique of Robert Mugabe's regime in an outspoken pastoral letter, Zimbabwe's Catholic bishops are calling for a cricket boycott of the country. But the president is hitting back.