The Pontiff told reporters: 'May the Lord give me the grace to cry'

Officials say a priest was gunned down while walking in the city of el-Arish

The Pope said a lack of mercy 'makes life barren' at an audience in St Peter's Square

Take a look inside this week's Catholic Herald

The Pope has appointed Franciscans to two of the most prestigious posts in the Holy Land. Neither speaks Arabic, so what's going on?

Vatican II and the internet have brought consumer choice into churchgoing. Some see that as a danger – but with imaginative leadership, it could be an opportunity

I touched down from America hoping only for a few good dinners. But I found hints everywhere of British Catholicism's surprising vitality

Tune in and find out what's really happening in the Catholic Church

Suicide bombers target a Christian village Four suicide bombers attacked a predominantly Christian village in north-east Lebanon on Monday, killing five people. ISIS was suspected of the attack in the village of Qaa. At least 15 people were injured. Pope appoints leader of Latin Patriarchate Franciscan Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ex-Custos of the Holy Land, has

✣ Highlights from the week online A dance out of time At patheos.com, Marc Barnes’s Bad Catholic blog took issue with “our current dance through the fields of Big Moral Questions”. Whenever an issue is discussed, it is framed in terms of “real life stories”. The New York Times Magazine discussed prostitution via a piece on

✣ Britain votes to leave European Union What happened? Britain voted to leave the European Union in an unexpected result whose effects were felt across the world. David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister after leading the remain campaign, which was defeated by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent. The leave campaign leader Boris Johnson

In hindsight, Private Eye tapped deeply into the national consciousness back in February. On its cover it ran the terrifying painting Christ in Limbo by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. The headline, in red, proclaimed: “How Britain will look after Brexit”. A speech bubble attached to a horrible creature spewing humans from its mouth said: