Officials say the death count over the last year in the violence between Muslims and Christians in the area has passed 1,700.

Charges were dismissed against Father Gabriel Abdul Masih and at least 15 others who were earlier accused of "provoking violence" that led to 23 deaths; 136 others werecharged.

After religious riots in the country between Muslims and Christians, the governor of Zamfara has suspended the Islamic shari'a law while federal and state officials discuss the matter. Zamfara was the first of several Nigerian states to adopt shari'a.

The Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera says the Pope toned down his Sunday message to mitigate "objections to the idea of an apology raised in recent years by historians and theologians, as well as by some cardinals and bishops."

"As is so often the case, John Paul's action had a level of significance beyond the obvious. It was, to be sure, a genuine apology for genuine wrongs, past and present," says the unsigned editorial, which leads by quoting Matthew 5:23-24. "But it also was an example to a world riven by historical grievances of how reconciliation must begin: with a brotherly—or sisterly—plea for forgiveness, evoking, one hopes, a response in kind."

"For African-Americans, the church has long been the institution they have turned to for help in times of crisis," reports The Dallas Morning News. "Yet black religious leaders, health officials and those infected and affected by AIDS say that ...