Faith

A person holds a candle during a prayer service in Yangon, Myanmar, Dec. 23, 2014.

Religious say helping victims will entail stopping traffickers, demand

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VATICAN CITY - Bringing the light of hope to ending human trafficking means confronting the brutal "darkness" of evil that is driving those who exploit others, said a number of women religious helping victims.

Volunteers give free haircuts to homeless men at the Padre Chava breakfast center in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, April 27.

Vatican to offer haircuts, shaves as well as showers to Rome’s homeless

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican will offer homeless people in Rome not only showers but also haircuts and shaves when new facilities open next month, the head of Pope Francis’ charity office said.

Pope Francis leads ecumenical vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome Jan. 25.

Become islands of mercy in the sea of world's indifference, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - Christians are called to overcome apathy, discouragement and pretentions of self-sufficiency by letting God enter into their hearts, making them joyful, merciful and strong, Pope Francis said.

Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, is pictured in 2003. The current president of the movement, Maria Voce, has formally requested the opening of a sainthood cause for Lubich, who died in 2008.

Sainthood cause of Focolare's founder officially opens in Italy

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VATICAN CITY - The sainthood cause of the founder of the Focolare movement, Chiara Lubich, was to open officially Jan. 27 in the cathedral of the Italian Diocese of Frascati, which includes the town where the international lay movement is based.

Pope Francis gestures to newlywed couples during his weekly audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Jan. 21.

Poverty stems from unjust economic system, not big families, Pope says

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VATICAN CITY - Families who have lots of children do not cause poverty, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis refers to Alberto Gasparri, left, papal trip planner, while answering a question from a French journalist aboard his flight to Manila, Philippines, Jan. 15.

Vatican clarifies Pope's comments on Charlie Hebdo attack

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican Press Office has issued a "clarification" to state that Pope Francis was not justifying last week's terrorist attacks in Paris after he told journalists that people who "provoke" can "expect a punch."

Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona of Mosul, Iraq

Bishops appointed for Chaldean Church in Toronto, Sydney, Baghdad

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis named new bishops for Chaldean Catholics in Toronto and Sydney and confirmed the election of a Chaldean priest, who is currently ministering in Detroit, to be a new auxiliary bishop in Baghdad.

St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Vatican downplays report that it’s under threat from Islamic terrorists

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican rejected reports that it could be the next target of Islamist terrorists after last week’s deadly attacks in France.

In a speech before diplomats and world leaders on Jan. 12, the Pope urged them to end violence and pursue "reconciliation, peace and defense" of the dignity of each human being.

Pope to diplomats: Rejecting God, people, nature leads to conflict

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VATICAN CITY - Highlighting some of the most urgent conflicts facing the world, Pope Francis said such strife and injustices were rooted in a culture of rejection that refuses to recognize God, to protect nature and to respect other human beings.

Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken critic of human rights abuses in El Salvador who was gunned down while celebrating Mass in 1980, is pictured in an undated photo. A panel advising the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes voted unanimously to recognize the late Archbishop Romero as a martyr.

Panel advising Vatican unanimous that Archbishop Romero is a martyr

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VATICAN CITY - A panel of theologians advising the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes voted unanimously to recognize the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero as a martyr, according to the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference.

People take part in a procession during the annual Three Kings Day parade in Gdansk, Poland, Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany.

God created all people, desires to save them, Pope says on Epiphany

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VATICAN CITY - In every age and in every culture, people seek God just as the Three Kings did and, in every age, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they find him in the surprising humility of a baby born in a manger, Pope Francis said.

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