Carol Glatz

Tasked with finding ways his predecessor should make amends for abuses, including gross financial misconduct, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, was able to meet with a top Vatican official to discuss those plans.

A thirst for God and for his true and undying love is rooted in the heart of every human being, Pope Francis said.

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based confederation of 165 national Catholic charities, has expressed sadness and outrage over incidents of child abuse by a Belgian Salesian priest who had been the national director of Caritas in the Central African Republic

The Vatican's Christmas tree will be adorned with energy-saving lights, the governing office of Vatican City said.

When Pope Francis met with bishops from New York state, he expressed his gratitude, recognizing the difficulties many of them were facing, said Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany.

The long nights and rain of November eventually lead to the expectation and joy of Advent and Christmas, which reminds people that Christian hope is the only way forward through difficult moments, said Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York.

An economic system lacking any ethics leads to a "throwaway" culture of consumption and waste, Pope Francis said.

Expressing his hope to visit South Sudan next year, Pope Francis appealed to the leaders there to continue to follow the path of dialogue and the common good.

Decades of fruitful international cooperation on protecting the earth's ozone layer serve as an important lesson for guiding collaboration needed today, Pope Francis said.

Bishops from New England shared with Pope Francis some of the joys, challenges and sufferings of the church in the Northeast and, really, throughout the United States, three of the bishops said.

Jesus invites everyone to always go to him, which, Pope Francis said, also means no longer making life revolve around oneself.

Msgr. Gilfredo Marengo, a theologian who led important research on the drafting of St. Paul VI's "Humanae Vitae," has been appointed vice president of Rome's Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences.

Pope Francis has approved adding the Dec. 10 feast of Our Lady of Loreto to all calendars and liturgical books for the celebration of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Holy Spirit guides the Catholic Church's mission, pointing the way to evangelize new lands and opening people's hearts to be transformed by Christ, Pope Francis said.

Representatives from the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the Muslim and Jewish faiths signed a joint declaration at the Vatican reaffirming each religion's clear opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

The church resolves conflicts and discerns God's will by patiently listening, discussing and deciding under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said.

God wants everyone to be saved, which is why those who evangelize must avoid letting their prejudices get in the way of God's plan, Pope Francis said.

The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon is not a "referendum" on priestly celibacy; it is looking for ways to provide for the sacramental life and formation of the people there, U.S. Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston said.

Jesus enjoys unmasking hypocrisy, which is the work of the devil, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis named a U.S. archbishop serving as a nuncio to head the Vatican diplomatic academy.