VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will help launch a global campaign of prayer and action against world hunger.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis and the eight members of his international Council of Cardinals have begun their discussions on specific ways to reorganize the Roman Curia, looking first at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN CITY - In societies increasingly made up of people of different cultures and religions, people must learn the art of dialogue and reach out to others with respect and friendship, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - The best present in life is encountering Jesus -- an encounter that will last a lifetime, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - During a three-hour meeting with 120 superiors general of men's religious orders, Pope Francis said the church would make consecrated life its focus in 2015.

KINGSTON, ONT. - ThereöÏÓãÊÓƵapp a lesson to be learned in the basement of St. Paul the Apostle parish, where artist Tony Vella has assembled a collection that teaches the story of God made human, shown through the lens of cultures from around the world.

The synopsis below has been prepared by the Holy See Press Office and Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, who has served as an English language corresponding assistant to Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., since the papal transition.

VATICAN CITY - In his first extensive piece of writing as Pope, Pope Francis lays out a vision of the Catholic Church dedicated to evangelization in a positive key, with a focus on society's poorest and most vulnerable, including the aged and unborn.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on sharing the joy of the Gospel is a call to faith-filled optimism, recognizing challenges but knowing that God's love and lordship will prevail, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, introducing the text to the media.

VATICAN CITY - Defending human dignity and protecting society's most vulnerable necessarily means protecting the unborn and defending their right to life, Pope Francis said in his apostolic exhortation.