VATICAN CITY - Like the good Samaritan, who stopped on the road to help a person in need, travelers along today's communication highways should offer support to those they encounter there, Pope Francis said.

ROME - Meeting 80 immigrants assisted by members of a Rome parish, Pope Francis said leaving one's homeland is always painful, but faith can give one the strength to keep going.

VATICAN CITY - Violence is the "greatest corruption of religion," while belief in a single God is the "principle and source of love between human beings," says a new study by a Vatican advisory panel of theologians.

NUEVA ITALIA, Mexico - A Mexican bishop has rebuked the federal government for sending soldiers to grab the guns of the self-defense groups formed to fight off violent drug cartels and criminal gangs in the western state of Michoacan.

Pope Francis has selected Quebec archbishop Gerald Lacroix to become Canada's newest cardinal.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said world peace requires the defense of human dignity from violations such as world hunger, human trafficking and abortion.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis assured mothers that breast-feeding their babies in public, even during a papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel, is OK.

VATICAN CITY - With more than 100,000 dead and millions displaced in a brutal civil war, Pope Francis has made repeated pleas for peace in Syria. But more than just call for peace he has taken steps to bring an end to the violence.

VATICAN CITY - When Father Fabian Baez booked his trip to Rome, he didn't have an appointment to meet with the pope, so he gave himself ample time in the Eternal City to be able to arrange some way to see him.

VATICAN CITY - Baptism isn't just some formal ritual, it profoundly changes people, giving them unwavering hope and the strength to forgive and love others, Pope Francis said.