Fredrick Nzwili

Pope Francis' surprise kiss on the feet of South Sudanese political leaders is the message of Easter, the country's Christian leaders said in a joint Easter message.

At a small tent on the edge of the U.N. campus, environmental activists from the world's faith traditions huddled on the sidelines of last week's March 11-15 meeting of some 5,000 environmental scientists, politicians and civil society.

A Catholic priest was shot dead by unknown robbers Dec. 10 near his parish in central Kenya as he was taking the Sunday Mass offerings to the bank.

Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic have distanced themselves from a group that is promising to defend the church and avenge the deaths of priests.

Militants killed a Roman Catholic priest this week in Bangui, Central African Republic where Catholic and other faith leaders had made headway recently mediating between factions.

The recent death of a Catholic priest in the Central African Republic demonstrates the delicate nature of peace in the country, where a cardinal and an imam have worked to build peace and unity.

On the day Pope Francis designated for global prayers for peace in South Sudan and Congo, Catholic bishops in South Sudan said their leaders did not know how to make peace.

Nigerian clergy say at least 1,000 churches have been destroyed in the six-year insurgency, which the government declared crushed last year.

Catholic bishops in Kenya called for calm in the East Africa nation, as pockets of violent postelection protests left at least five dead in opposition strongholds.