Citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo are mourning the death of Cardinal Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi, the country's top Roman Catholic prelate. Cardinal Etsou died on January 6 of pneumonia in Belgium. As his body was returned for a scheduled burial in the Congo on Monday, mourners remembered him as a religious and political leader. Kari Barber has this report from our West Africa regional bureau.

The Catholic Church has denied a religious funeral for the paralyzed Italian author who died after a doctor disconnected his respirator. It said had repeatedly voiced his wish to end his life, which is against Church doctrine. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.

Pope Benedict and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians Patriarch Bartholomew held a solemn prayer service together on Thursday and re-committed their Churches to the quest for unity to patch up a nearly 1,000-year-old schism.