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VATICAN CITY -- Being a pastor in a country at war means being with people, leading them closer to Jesus and celebrating the liturgy in a way them helps them experience a bit of heaven on earth, Pope Francis told bishops from Ukraine.

VATICAN CITY -- Christians are called to follow the spirit of the beatitudes by comforting the poor and the oppressed, especially migrants and refugees who are rejected, exploited and left to die, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis welcomed öÏÓãÊÓƵapp President Vladimir Putin to the Vatican July 4, and the two discussed the ongoing wars in Eastern Ukraine and in Syria, the Vatican said. Russia plays a major role in both conflicts.

VATICAN CITY -- The excluded, especially migrants and refugees, are the ones who ultimately pay the price for humanity's greed, Pope Francis said.

OTTAWA -- Pope Francis is leading efforts to heal the wounds of the sexual abuse scandals so the Church can fulfill her mission, says CanadaöÏÓãÊÓƵapp apostolic nuncio.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Basilica with migrants, refugees and volunteer rescue teams, the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY -- In what Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople described as a "brave and bold" gesture, Pope Francis gave the patriarch a famous reliquary containing bone fragments believed to belong to St. Peter.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will declare Blessed John Henry Newman, the 19th-century British cardinal, a saint Oct. 13.

ROME -- After U.S. President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea, Pope Francis called his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a positive step toward world peace.

VATICAN CITY -- Men and women who are called to follow Christ must do so to help those in need and not to seek their own fame and glory, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- In the light of "a worrying negative prejudice" against the Catholic Church, Pope Francis ordered the publication of a document affirming the absolute secrecy of everything said in confession and calling on priests to defend it at all costs, even at the cost of their lives.

VATICAN CITY -- At the end of Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Francis and Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos walked down the stairs under the main altar in St. Peter's Basilica and prayed together at the apostle's tomb.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis gave priests who minister to seafarers special permission to grant absolution for sins that usually would require the intervention of a bishop or the Vatican itself.

VATICAN CITY -- If the world is to succeed in eradicating the scourge of hunger, it must first fight against the indifference, apathy and broken promises that allow the crisis to continue, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has named a retired bishop to serve as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Lyon, France, three months after refusing to accept the resignation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin.