Asked what a U.S. Catholic given a choice between voting for a person who supports abortion or one who supports closing borders and deporting migrants, Pope Francis said one must choose "the lesser evil."

The 87-year-old Pope Francis not only survived the longest trip of his pontificate, but he drew energy from the crowds who came to see him, and he seemed to enjoy his 12-day visit to Asia and the Pacific.

Arriving in Singapore from Timor-Leste, Pope Francis made the biggest transition of his 12-day trip to Asia and the Pacific, moving from one of the world's poorest countries to one of its wealthiest and from one of the most youthful to one of the oldest.

With a 21-cannon salute, Pope Francis was welcomed to Papua New Guinea Sept. 6, the second stop on his four-nation visit to Asia and the Pacific.

Not long after Pope Francis left Indonesia, authorities there announced they had arrested seven people for making online "terror threats" against the pope.

Politicians have an essential role in preserving the unity of a nation by working for the common good and promoting cooperation, especially when "the exasperation of contrasts" threatens to divide a country, Pope Francis told Indonesia leaders.

As the Catholic Church and Christians at large experience intense persecution in Nicaragua, Pope Francis expressed encouragement and support to the people living under the country's authoritarian regime.

"Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly: the churches are not to be touched," Pope Francis said about a Ukrainian law banning the Russian Orthodox Church, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Aug. 24, Ukrainian independence day.

When receiving the Eucharist, Catholics should respond with gratitude and awe that Jesus offers himself as nourishment and salvation, Pope Francis said.

Mary is not a "motionless wax statue," but a disciple who wants to share the goodnews of Jesus with everyone and reaches out to help and comfort them, Pope Francis said.

Many elderly people risk feeling an increasingly unbearable sense of loneliness, especially during summer, Pope Francis said.

While Christians must treat addicts with care and comprehension, drug traffickers who push their products on the vulnerable are "murderers" who are called to conversion, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis "never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others," that is considered vulgar in Italian, the Vatican press office said.

In the latest comment from the Vatican on "Fiducia Supplicans," the controversial declaration issued by the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2023 that includes guidelines on the blessing of same-sex couples, Pope Francis clarified that he didn't allow blessings of "the union" but of "each person."

Unity within Christian communities and the unity of all the churches will grow only as believers draw closer to Jesus and learn to be honest in examining if they are listening to the Holy Spirit or to their own preferences, Pope Francis told leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion.