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Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, England, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, is seen at a June 14 press conference at the Venerable English College in Rome. Speaking to reporters after his first encounter with Pope Francis, Archbishop Wel by said he was struck by the pope's "extraordinary humanity on fire with the spirit of Christ."

Pope, Anglican archbishop pledge to work for unity

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, pledged to support each other with their prayers and to continue the search for full unity between their communities.

Pope Francis said that a church that is rich and lacking in praise for the Lord is an old, lifeless church that neglects the true treasure of God's free gift of grace and salvation.

Wealth obscures power of God's word, free gift of salvation, Pope says

VATICAN CITY - A church that is rich and lacking in praise for the Lord is an old, lifeless church that neglects the true treasure of God's free gift of grace and salvation, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

Legionaries of Christ priests wait to enter the chapel at Regina Apostolorum University during a Mass with members of Regnum Christi in Rome June 7. Members of Regnum Christi, the lay movement associated with the Legionaries, met in Rome June 6-9 to disc uss the identity of the movement and draft new regulations for it.

Lay members meet to contribute to Regnum Christi's transformation

ROME - Members of Regnum Christi, the lay movement associated with the Legionaries of Christ, said they don't feel they are on a salvage mission, but rather are part of a transformation.

Pope Francis looks over a book with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano during a private meeting at the Vatican June 8.

Religious freedom gets more lip service than guarantees, Pope says

VATICAN CITY - Religious freedom is talked about more than it is protected, Pope Francis said.

Youths surround Pope Francis as he meets with students from Jesuit schools June 7 in Paul VI hall at the Vatican.

Pope cuts 'boring' speech to answer students' questions

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis ditched a 1,250-word prepared speech to students saying it would be "a tad boring" to read out loud and opted instead to just quickly hit the high points and spend the rest of the time answering people's questions.

Pope Francis looks on as he leads his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican June 5.

Pope Francis calls clerical careerism a 'leprocy'

VATICAN CITY - Using especially strong language on one of his favorite themes, Pope Francis decried a plague of careerism among priests and urged them to renounce their personal ambitions for service to the church -- warning that failure to do so would make them look "ridiculous."

Father Brian Barr presides at eucharistic adoration during a prayer service for vocations at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y., in 2012. Vatican officials are organizing a worldwide, simultaneous eucharistic adoration for June 2.

Vatican organizing worldwide, simultaneous eucharistic adoration June 2

VATICAN CITY - Vatican officials are making strategic phone calls to some of the world's most far-flung dioceses, trying to verify that in each of the world's inhabited time zones there will be an organized hour of eucharistic adoration coinciding with 5-6 p.m. Rome time June 2.

Pope Francis greets Irish writer John Waters during a Pentecost prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 18. An estimated 200,000 people from 150 Catholic lay movements attended the vigil.

At Pentecost vigil, Pope shares personal stories of his faith

VATICAN CITY - With humor and passion, Pope Francis shared highlights of his personal faith journey and explained some key points of his teaching to an enthusiastic crowd of representatives from Catholic lay movements.

The parish is a gathering of gatherings, especially of families. But some within the Church are asking if it’s time to rethink the concept of parish.

Rethinking the parish concept

The ideals of parish life aren’t hard to identify. Priests everywhere remind people in front of them on Sunday they are the Church — a community bound together by sacrament and the word of God. It isn’t just the building that is named after a saint but every family and each individual whenever they come together to worship and reach out for the kingdom of God.

A girl hugs Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 15.

Church should be less serious, more loving, says Pope

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church needs to revive its loving and tender side, which gets lost when the Church becomes too serious, Pope Francis said.

A priest listens to a confession during Mass in 2012 at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, Poland. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, said he repeatedly hears that "many people have b een going to confession and many have said that, while they hadn't gone in a long time, they felt touched by the words of Pope Francis."

Archbishop says people returning to confession because of Pope

VATICAN CITY - The head of the Vatican office promoting new evangelization said that while he does not like the terms "Francis effect" or "Francis bump," it is true that "Pope Francis has touched the hearts and minds of many people."

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