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WASHINGTON - The much-anticipated encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment, expected sometime this spring or early summer, is generating a lot of buzz in Washington and elsewhere.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis once again urged solidarity with migrants who risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea for Europe, and assured prayers for the victims of a deadly crossing in early February.

VATICAN CITY - Less than a month after saying Catholics don’t have to multiply “like rabbits,” Pope Francis on Wednesday (Feb. 11) once again praised big families, telling a gathering in St. Peter������Ƶapp Square that having more children is not “an irresponsible choice.”

VATICAN CITY - The leaders of the world's bishops' conferences and religious orders must ensure they are doing everything possible to protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse and are offering appropriate care for victims and their families, Pope Francis said.

Moira McQueen, mother of eight and moral theologian, thought Pope Francis’ off-the-cuff remark about Catholics reproducing like rabbits was hilarious.

The news cycle is like a popularity contest — and Pope Francis is winning.

VATICAN CITY - Christians are united in bloodshed as they suffer from violence and persecution in various parts of the world, Pope Francis told Christian leaders.

Despite the economic downturn of recent years, bank accounts of the world������Ƶapp billionaires have�� grown deliberately fatter as the financial canyon between rich and poor has widened. It has reached a point that by 2016 the world������Ƶapp richest one per cent could own more than half the planet������Ƶapp wealth.

“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!”�� ��
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)

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Pope Francis made an apostolic visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines Jan. 13-19, 2015. The Sri Lanka highlight was the canonization of St. Joseph Vaz. In the Philippines, the Pope celebrated Mass with six million people in Manilla. All the articles from his trip are listed below, including some Canadian reaction written by Register reporters Michael Swan and Evan Boudreau.

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis told a crowd of an estimated six million gathered in a Manila park to protect the family "against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture."

MANILA, Philippines - Young people drew inspiration from an encounter with Pope Francis at the University of Santo Tomas.

TACLOBAN, Philippines - Among more than 100,000 people who braved an approaching tropical storm and waited long hours to attend Mass with Pope Francis Jan. 17 were survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

MANILA, Philippines - The record-breaking papal Mass in Rizal Park coincided with one of the most popular feast days in the Philippines: Santo Nino Day, or the feast of the Holy Child Jesus.

NAPA, Calif. - It was a good thing for Trinitas Cellars that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis, and not, say Pope Malbecius.