VATICAN CITY - The lights glowing on the Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, like Christmas lights everywhere, are reminders that Jesus is the light of the world, Pope Francis said.

For the third time, Time magazine has chosen a Pope as its Person of the Year.

VATICAN CITY - An official at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that, despite widespread news reports and the statement of an Italian bishop, he does not expect Pope Francis to write an encyclical on the subject of poverty.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis accepted a proposal to set up a special commission on the sexual abuse of children, which will advise him on ways to prevent abuse and provide pastoral care for victims and their families.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will help launch a global campaign of prayer and action against world hunger.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis and the eight members of his international Council of Cardinals have begun their discussions on specific ways to reorganize the Roman Curia, looking first at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN CITY - In societies increasingly made up of people of different cultures and religions, people must learn the art of dialogue and reach out to others with respect and friendship, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - The best present in life is encountering Jesus -- an encounter that will last a lifetime, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - During a three-hour meeting with 120 superiors general of men's religious orders, Pope Francis said the church would make consecrated life its focus in 2015.

KINGSTON, ONT. - There’s a lesson to be learned in the basement of St. Paul the Apostle parish, where artist Tony Vella has assembled a collection that teaches the story of God made human, shown through the lens of cultures from around the world.