In Zika outbreak, contraceptives may be 'lesser evil,' Pope says
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM MEXICO - With physicians across Central and South American urging women to postpone pregnancy because of the Zika virus that causes birth defects, Pope Francis said using contraceptives could be a "lesser evil."
Vatican invites head of al-Azhar to meet with pope to restart dialogue
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's interreligious council invited the head of a leading Muslim institution to meet with Pope Francis as part of an effort to restart dialogue.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Speaking from the symbolic platform of the U.S.-Mexico border, Pope Francis pleaded for the plight of immigrants while warning those refusing to offer safe shelter and passage that their actions and inhospitable attitudes were bringing about dishonor and self-destruction as their hearts hardened and they "lost their sensitivity to pain."
In silence, Pope remembers migrants who cross Mexican-U.S. border
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - At the border of Mexico and the United States, Pope Francis blessed a large cross in memory of all the people who have crossed the frontier.
Stop slavery; negotiate wages, working conditions, Pope urges Mexicans
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - God will hold humanity responsible for enslaving the poor and treating people as less important than profits, Pope Francis told Mexican workers and business leaders.
Panel urges deeper look at immigration to see 'moral implications'
EL PASO, Texas - The supposed political hues of Pope Francis' visit to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, recently raised by a U.S. presidential candidate and media coverage of those remarks came up during a news conference with Catholic officials in El Paso today.
Pope tells Mexican prisoners society needs system of 'social health'
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Pope Francis urged society to rethink its ideas of locking up inmates and throwing away the key, calling such an approach another symptom of the "throwaway culture" he often decries and "a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned its children."
Pope snaps at pilgrim who caused him to fall into boy in wheelchair
MORELIA, Mexico - Excitement turned potentially dangerous and elicited an angry snap from Pope Francis at a meeting with young people in Morelia Feb. 16.
Jesus calls us to be disciples, not hitmen, pope tells youth
MORELIA, Mexico - Jesus never sends anyone out as a hitman, dealing in death, but calls Christians to be his disciples and friends, Pope Francis told Mexico's youth.
El Paso Diocese gets ready for rendezvous with Pope Francis
EL PASO, Texas - Two days before Pope Francis' main event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the Diocese of El Paso was coordinating the final touches to its own two main papal events.
Devil wants church resigned to violence; resist him, Pope says
MORELIA, Mexico - The devil loves Christians -- especially priests and nuns -- who are resigned to the violence and corruption around them, Pope Francis said.
Pope's visit is a call to live a merciful life, cloistered nun says
MORELIA, Mexico - Pope Francis' visit to Morelia will be a call for those suffering to continue along the path of good and an encouragement for those in religious life to live their vocations with mercy, tenderness and love, said a cloistered Mexican nun.
In southern Mexico, Pope warns against diminishing importance of family
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - Pope Francis warned against moves to diminish the importance of the family, peppering his talk with anecdotes and off-the-cuff remarks that kept a packed soccer stadium cheering, laughing and applauding.
Mexican politicians eager to show themselves meeting Pope Francis
MEXICO CITY - Shortly after arriving in Mexico City Feb. 12, President Enrique Pena Nieto introduced Pope Francis to most of his Cabinet and senior staff. The next morning, he introduced the pope again to his team at the National Palace in central Mexico City, where presidents and leaders have projected power to the country since colonial times.
At El Paso church, people pray day and night for Pope in Mexico
EL PASO, Texas - In Segundo Barrio, people having been praying day and night for Pope Francis since he set foot in Mexico.