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.

VATICAN CITY — Arriving on his second visit to Chile, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta said his mission to the country was a sign of Pope Francis' closeness to the local church following devastating reports of sexual abuse and cover-ups by members of the clergy.

VATICAN CITY — With the help of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a 15th-century copy of a letter Christopher Columbus sent to his royal patrons describing the riches of the New World has been returned to its rightful owner -- the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY — As 32 nations get ready to vie for the World Cup in Russia, Pope Francis greeted players, organizers and soccer fans who will be following "this event that overcomes all borders."

VATICAN CITY — If Pope Francis ever plans an apostolic trip to space, he's all set after receiving a custom-made blue flight suit with patches of the Argentine flag, his papal coat of arms and a pair of angel wings with his crew name, Jorge M. Bergoglio.

ROME — The way young people around the world are embracing attitudes of welcome, tolerance and acceptance of differences bodes well for a future where anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies may not have the upper hand, said the new president of the International Catholic Migration Commission.

VATICAN CITY — A new Vatican document cautions against the dangers of highly competitive children's sports, political and economic pressures on athletes to win '"at all costs" and the unsportsmanlike or violent behavior of fans.

VATICAN CITY — That only men can be validly ordained to the priesthood is a truth that is part of the Catholic faith and will not and cannot change, said Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

VATICAN CITY — Make medicine and health care more humane by protecting the life and dignity of all patients, particularly the weakest and the unborn, Pope Francis told Catholic doctors and medical specialists.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople called on Christians to work together to build a culture of solidarity in the face of growing economic inequality and a lack of respect for the human dignity of the poor and of migrants.

VATICAN CITY —  It is a contradiction to claim that promoting access to safe abortions is somehow protecting the human rights of women and girls, a Vatican representative said.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will declare Blesseds Oscar Romero, Paul VI and four others saints Oct. 14 at the Vatican during the meeting of the world Synod of Bishops, an institution Blessed Paul revived.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis called the bishops of Chile to the Vatican to "examine the causes and consequences" of the clerical sexual abuse scandal and acknowledge personal responsibility and "the mechanisms that in some cases led to a cover up and serious omissions regarding the victims," the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, adding among other things a specific reference to the office's responsibility for promoting a deeper reflection on the role of women in the church and society.

VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church needs to seek the input, commitment and talents of all of its members if it is to be truly catholic and to evangelize effectively, said a new document from the International Theological Commission.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis asked the bishops of Germany to continue working together to find broader consensus on guidelines for allowing a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist.