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Faith

Pope Francis

Catholic Church must welcome ‘unconventional couples,’ says top Italian bishop

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ROME - The Catholic Church should make “unconventional couples” feel at home instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination,” the leader of the Italian Bishops Conference and an ally of Pope Francis said this week.

Jozef Wesolowski

Polish diplomat raises extradition for Vatican official accused of sex abuse

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VATICAN CITY - Poland’s ambassador to the Holy See has forcefully condemned the alleged sexual abuse of children by a Polish-born former archbishop and Vatican diplomat, and said Warsaw is considering a fresh request to extradite Jozef Wesolowski to face trial in his homeland.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass with former doctoral students

Retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass with former doctoral students

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VATICAN CITY - With "spiritual freshness and joy" despite his physical frailty, retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass and met briefly with his former doctoral students at the Vatican Aug. 24.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, former nuncio to the Dominican Republic, is pictured celebrating Mass in Santo Domingo in 2009. The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith found the archbishop guilty of sexual abus e of minors and has ordered that he be laicized.

Vatican says laicized nuncio could stand trial in Dominican Republic

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VATICAN CITY - The Vatican denied covering up for a former papal ambassador accused of sexually abusing boys and suggested he might have to stand trial on the charges in the Dominican Republic.

Pope Francis is pictured during his weekly Angelus prayer Aug. 24 from the window of his office in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. The pope prayed for peace and marked Ukrainian Independence Day.

Pope Francis marks Ukrainian Independence Day, prays for peace

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis lamented "tension and conflict" in Ukraine and prayed for "peace and tranquility" there on the country's Independence Day.

Pope Francis appeals to Iraqi president to end crisis

Pope Francis appeals to Iraqi president to end crisis

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis wrote to the president of Iraq, calling for an end to the “brutal suffering of Christians and other religious minorities” and urging political leaders to end the humanitarian crisis in the country.

Sex workers and their children take part in an Aug. 14 demonstration seeking better rights and a halt to girl trafficking in the red-light area of Kolkata, India. Human trafficking destroys the lives of millions of children, women and men each year, ma king it a real threat to peace, the Vatican said as it announced Pope Francis' 2015 World Peace Day message would focus on the phenomenon.

Pope Francis' 2015 World Peace Day message to focus on human trafficking

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VATICAN CITY - Human trafficking destroys the lives of millions of children, women and men each year, making it a real threat to peace, the Vatican said as it announced Pope Francis' 2015 World Peace Day message would focus on the phenomenon.

The caskets containing the bodies of the wife and children of Emanuel Bergoglio, a nephew of Pope Francis, are loaded on a plane Aug. 19 in Cordoba, Argentina, to be flown to Buenos Aires. The pope asked people to join him in prayer after he learned that two of his little great-nephews and their mother had died in a car crash in Argentina and his nephew was in critical condition.

Pope Francis thanks people for prayers after deadly crash kills relatives

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis, in mourning for the deaths of his nephew's wife and two small children, thanked people at his weekly general audience Aug. 20 for their prayers.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard the papal flight from Seoul, South Korea, to Rome Aug. 18.

Pope Francis hints he might one day retire

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VATICAN CITY - Addressing journalists on his return from his intense five-day visit to South Korea late Monday (Aug. 18), Pope Francis bantered with reporters and lightheartedly said he may only have “two or three” years left to live.

Pope Francis leads the Lord's Prayer as he celebrates the closing Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day at Haemi Castle in Haemi, South Korea, Aug. 17.

Pope Francis calls on Catholics to dialogue with China, other Asian societies

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SEOUL, South Korea - Speaking at the execution site of anonymous Korean martyrs, Pope Francis told Catholic bishops and young laypeople from across Asia to evangelize their continent through dialogue and openness, even with others suspicious or intolerant of the church. But he also urged them to challenge aspects of their cultures incompatible with Christian values.

Pope Francis, accompanied by Korea's President Park Geun-hye, left, accepts flowers from children in traditional costume as he arrives in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 14. The pope will beatify Korean martyrs and participate in the sixth Asian Youth Day durin g his five-day visit to South Korea.

In South Korea, Pope Francis calls for peace, democracy and social justice

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SEOUL, South Korea - Starting his first visit to Asia, Pope Francis urged South Korean political and civic leaders to seek peace on their divided peninsula and strengthen their nation's commitment to democracy and social justice.

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