VATICAN CITY — Jesus himself showed that the best way to respond to scandal and divisiveness is to stay silent and pray, Pope Francis said Sept. 3 as he resumed his early morning Masses with invited guests.

VATICAN CITY — Water is a gift of God that makes life possible and yet millions of people do not have access to safe drinking water, and rivers, seas and oceans continue to be polluted, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY — Catholics in the pews and even priests in the Vatican are confused about the long document Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published claiming Pope Francis turned a blind eye to information he had about the sexual misconduct of now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM DUBLIN  — Pope Francis said Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano's long document calling on him to resign is written in a way that people should be able to draw their own conclusions.

DUBLIN — Before celebrating Mass in a Dublin park, Pope Francis solemnly asked forgiveness for the thousands of cases of sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by Catholics in Ireland.

DUBLIN — In a stadium of Catholic families from around the world, Pope Francis told the laypeople they are the vast majority of church members and that, without them, the church would be cold, a collection of statues.

VATICAN CITY — A former apostolic nuncio to the United States accused church officials, including Pope Francis, of failing to act on accusations of abuse of conscience and power by now-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick.

DUBLIN — Acknowledging the failures "of bishops, religious superiors, priests and others" in the Catholic Church to protect children from the "repugnant crimes" of physical and sexual abuse, Pope Francis began his two-day visit to Ireland.

WASHINGTON — A new documentary, "John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace," makes the case that the pope's trip to Ireland in 1979 played a key role in ending the Troubles and bringing about peace in Northern Ireland.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis blamed "clericalism" in the Catholic Church for creating a culture where criminal abuse was widespread and extraordinary efforts were made to keep the crimes hidden.

VATICAN CITY — "No effort must be spared" to prevent future cases of clerical sexual abuse and "to prevent the possibility of their being covered up," Pope Francis said in a letter addressed "to the people of God."

VATICAN CITY — In the wake of a grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in six dioceses in Pennsylvania, a Vatican spokesman called the abuses described in the report as being "criminal and morally reprehensible."

ROME — Members of the Catholic Church sin and give scandal, it's true, Pope Francis said, but it is up to each Catholic to live the faith as authentically as possible and witness to the world the love of Jesus.

VATICAN CITY — Building on the development of Catholic Church teaching against capital punishment, Pope Francis has ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" and to commit the church to working toward its abolition worldwide.

VATICAN CITY — Among the thousands of young altar servers braving the sweltering Rome heat, a group from the United States sat patiently in the shade of the colonnade in St. Peter's Square waiting to take their seats.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Philip Wilson, who had been found guilty by an Australian court of failing to inform police about child sexual abuse allegations.

VATICAN CITY — The world needs leaders who can "put into practice a more just way for all of us to live in this world as sharers in a common destiny," Pope Francis said.

ROME — While Rome always has been a city of beauty that highlights both the past and the present, a quaint and unusual bar nestled in the heart of the Eternal City has taken that concept to new heights.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis added an Italian teenager to the list of people he will formally recognize as saints Oct. 14 during the monthlong meeting of the world Synod of Bishops on young people.

During an "ordinary public consistory" July 19, Pope Francis announced he would declare Blessed Nunzio Sulprizio a saint the same day he will canonize Blesseds Oscar Romero, Paul VI and four others. An ordinary public consistory is a meeting of the pope, cardinals and promoters of sainthood causes that formally ends the sainthood process.

VATICAN CITY — As his delegates to preside over sessions of the Synod of Bishops in October, Pope Francis has chosen four cardinals from countries where young people are facing special challenges.

VATICAN CITY — World War I and its aftermath changed the map of Europe, but also dismantled the notion of the "state church" in a way that forced the Catholic Church to discover again the authentic meaning of mission, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

VATICAN CITY — Hearts that are closed to welcoming migrants and refugees are similar to those of the Pharisees, who often would preach sacrifice and following God's law without exercising mercy to those in need, Pope Francis said.

NEW YORK — Can one imagine a more difficult year for "Humanae Vitae" ("Of Human Life") to be heard than 1968? Blessed Paul VI's encyclical came out just as the sexual revolution was picking up steam, well on its way to becoming a dominant force in Western culture.

VATICAN CITY — Behind the indifference toward human life lies a contagious illness that blinds people to the lives, challenges and struggles of others, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis denounced the practice of administering prenatal tests to determine birth defects that often lead to abortions, comparing it to the Nazi-era eugenics program that determined what lives were worth keeping or eliminating.

VATICAN CITY — The theory that well-being will automatically flow down to everyone from the riches of the few is "a lie," Pope Francis said.