VATICAN CITY - Cold indifference to migrants, the poor, the hungry and the persecuted must be overcome through the warmth of mercy, which can transform people into artisans of peace, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - The best thing parents can pass on to their children is their religious faith, Pope Francis said as he baptized 26 babies.

VATICAN CITY - True love comes from God and is expressed through his mercy and forgiveness, not through sentimental expressions that can easily vanish, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - In his first video prayer message of the year, Pope Francis asked people to join him in praying that interreligious dialogue lead to "peace and justice."

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican’s newspaper has criticized French weekly Charlie Hebdo for manipulating faith in the magazine’s latest front page, which depicts a blood-soaked God armed with a Kalashnikov.

VATICAN CITY - Go out and seek the signs God is offering everyone today that will lead to Christ, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the place where his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, created the world's first Nativity scene.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis erected a new Syro-Malankara eparchy for the United States and Canada. The pope also named Bishop Thomas Eusebios Naickamparambil, who served as the apostolic exarch for Syro-Malankaran Catholics in the United States, as its first bishop.

VATICAN CITY - A historic agreement signed between the Holy See and Palestine that supports a two-state solution in the Holy Land has gone into effect, the Vatican announced.

VATICAN CITY - God's ability to forgive "knows no limits" as his mercy frees people from bitterness and despair, Pope Francis said.