At the Riuniti hospital in Bergamo, Italy, a 40-year-old woman said to be in a vegetative state for the past four months following a brain haemorrhage in January, gave birth to a baby girl. The baby, named Gaia, was born by caesarean at 34 weeks. She weighs 2 kilos and is in good health.

Bangalore, India, July 22 - Sr. Nancy Pereira, foundress of a Fund for the Poor bank to help impoverished clients in Bangalore, India, died on July 14 at the age of 86. Her fellow sisters remembered her for her service to the poor with "joy" and "creative solidarity."

Rome, Italy, July 22 - Benedict XVI is now the seventh oldest Pope since reliable records began being collected in the year 1400, according to a U.S. statistician. In the words of Pope Benedict himself, however, age is not as important as wisdom.

Rome, Italy, July 21- A new children's book has been published under Pope Benedict XVI's name. It presents a collection of the Holy Father's descriptions of Jesus' relationship with his "first companions," taken from his catecheses at general audiences over the past five years.

Madrid, Spain, July 14 - Spanish soccer player Andres Iniesta, who scored the winning goal during the World Cup final in South Africa, has promised to walk the Way of St. James, which leads to Santiago de Compostela.

As Russia celebrated its third "Day of the Family, Love and Faithfulness" on 8 July 2010, certain demographers expressed concern at the country's low birth rate, with 67 abortions performed for every 100 births. This huge country only has 26 million children. Nearly 20% of Russian couples today do not have children and over 2 million abortions are carried out every year. Most abortions are performed on very young women: in 2009, nearly 90,000 abortions involved women under the age of 19 according to Pavel Astakhov, ombudsman for children's rights to the Russian President. The Government keeps quiet about this problem, said Elena Mizoulina, Chairperson of the Committee for Family, Women and Children's Affairs at the Russian Parliament.

On 2 March 2010, the IFP (Institute for Family Policies) presented a report to the European Parliament entitled "Abortion in Europe and Spain". In 2008, 2.9 million abortions were carried out in Europe, i.e. one abortion every 11 seconds or 7,846 abortions per day.

Baghdad, Iraq, July 2 - A leading bishop in Iraq has that violence has decreased in the country, but advises continued vigilance. Neither terrorism nor fear have been defeated, he reported, urging the establishment of a strong and broadly supported government. "The Iraqi Church is alive," he declared in an interview.

Rome, Italy, July 2 - Recognizing the democratic election of the new president in Iraq, the Holy Father hoped on Friday that the change would bring increased stability, security and unity in the country. He encouraged all Iraqis, Christians and Muslims alike, to unite in their "shared suffering" to build "a just, moral and peaceable environment."

Beirut, July 1, 2010 (Signis) - The Ball In Your Court is a new special program produced by and broadcasted on the Lebanese Christian satellite channel Tele Lumiere/Noursat, in parallel with the 2010 World Cup.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, April 27 - Bishop Francisco Cases of the Canary Islands explained this week that the resignations of bishops involved in the sexual abuse of minors demonstrate the Church's "zero tolerance" policy in dealing with the issue.

Vatican City, April 26 - On Saturday, the Holy Father appointed six prelates to leadership positions for the upcoming Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, scheduled to take place October 10 – 24 of this year.

Madrid, Spain, April 8- A flight attendant recently sent back a signed photo of the King of Spain after he signed the country's new law lifting several restrictions on abortion.

Rome, Italy, April 6- In response to the media campaign designed to portray Pope Benedict as covering up cases of sexual abuse by priests, various bishops in the Middle East have expressed their solidarity with the Holy Father.

Mosul, Iraq, April 6 - Commenting on the long-troubled Christian communities of Iraq, the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul said that Easter celebrations after Iraq's general elections gave "new hope" to the people, with attendance at the Easter liturgy showing an increase over previous years.

London, England, April 7 - A Christian nurse in Britain lost a discrimination claim on Tuesday after fighting a policy that barred her from wearing her crucifix to work.

Rome, Italy, March 25 - Fr. Rayan P. Atto's parish in Mar Qardagh ad Erbil, Iraq will be "present" for the Pope's celebration for World Youth Day 2010 (WYD) from the Holy See on Thursday evening. The priest said that for his Chaldean Catholic community, spiritual commuion with other youth preparing for WYD has become a tradition.

ROME, Mercredi 24 mars 2010 - Le cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefet de la Congregation pour les Eglises orientales, a encore une fois denonce les discriminations subies par les chretiens au Moyen-Orient dans la plus triste indifference.

Mosul, Iraq, March 23 - Almost all Catholics who fled Mosul in the run-up to the March 7 election have returned home, according to the latest reports. The Archbishop of Kirkuk said he was very optimistic that security would improve and minority groups, including Christians, would have a bigger voice because of the elections outcome.

Today, the universal church celebrates the feast of St. Nicholas of Flue. During his lifetime, the Swiss saint had 10 children, became a hermit and later prevented a civil war.