VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has requested a special study session at the Vatican to look at how to solve the growing problem of drug abuse, especially narcotics.

VATICAN CITY – Like the Good Shepherd, good priests do not privatize their time and demand to be left alone, but rather are always willing to risk everything in search of the lost sheep, Pope Francis said at the closing Mass of the Jubilee for Priests and Seminarians.  

VATICAN CITY – The Church needs the service of the many women who continue to follow Mary's example of courage and service despite the odds, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is already a celebrity and an internet sensation in his own right, so it was perhaps no surprise that he had words of wisdom for some of YouTube’s top stars in a meeting over the weekend — and that a few Hollywood A-listers were also lining up for a photo-op.

VATICAN CITY – Deacons are called to be servants who set aside their own self-serving plans and are generous with their lives, Pope Francis said.

FRONT ROYAL, Va. – Above the hum of the table saw, one story was told, then another.

HARISSA, Lebanon – High on a summit overlooking the Mediterranean, Our Lady of Lebanon stands majestically with her arms outstretched, welcoming her children.

WARSAW, Poland – The founder of the first Polish male religious order, who will be canonized in Rome June 5, calls people "to contemplate God's mercy and proclaim that God's heart is open to all," said Poland's bishops.

ROME – Thousands of permanent deacons and their wives began their Year of Mercy celebration by cutting straight to the heart of what it means to be a deacon, how the ministry impacts their families and the challenge of explaining their vocation to others, including bishops and priests.

ROME – A Corpus Christi procession should honor Christ's gift of himself in the Eucharist, but also should be a pledge to share bread and faith with the people of the cities and towns where the processions take place, Pope Francis said.