VATICAN CITY – Venezuela's opposition party pleaded with Pope Francis to mediate discussions with President Nicolas Maduro's government to find a solution to the current crisis that has left most of the country without food or basic necessities.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said he will never give up calling for stronger efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and for people to stop being indifferent to the fate of the region's people.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said those bombing civilians in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo will be “accountable to God” for their actions as he renewed his appeals for peace amid an intensifying civil war in that country.

JERUSALEM – One of the last ceremonies in which former Israeli President Shimon Peres participated as a public figure took place in the Vatican Gardens in June 2014, the last month of his presidency. Along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he planted an olive tree at the invitation of Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY – Peace and reconciliation will be the focus of Pope Francis’ first official visit to the nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan later this week.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis and the Vatican are concerned about continuing tensions on the Korean peninsula "on account of the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea," the Vatican spokesman confirmed.

VATICAN CITY – Leaders of the World Jewish Congress said that Pope Francis told them everyone needs to speak out against brutality and help ensure that migrants are better integrated.

Pope Francis said silence and prayer is the way to overcome our darkest moments, rather than resorting to pills or alcoholic drinks to escape from our woes. His comments came during his homily at the morning Mass celebrated on Tuesday at the Santa Marta residence.

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church in Mexico has been shaken by the recent murder of several priests, with the body of the latest victim found just hours after Pope Francis appealed for an end to the country’s drug-related violence.

MEXICO CITY – Pope Francis' endorsement of pro-family marches made headlines in Mexico, taking by surprise people who saw his speeches in the country in February as being critical of a conservative Mexican Church hierarchy.

VATICAN CITY – With some stoic and others sobbing, survivors and family members of the victims of the July terrorist attacks in Nice met Pope Francis during a special audience at the Vatican.

Pope Francis contrasted the anxiety that comes from the Holy Spirit and the anxiety that comes from a dirty conscience. During his homily during the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, he also spoke about vanity, which “masks” life, making it look like something it is not.

Pope Francis met with refugees and leaders of religious faiths including Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus who joined him for a day of prayer for peace in Assisi, home of his namesake, the 12th-century friar St. Francis.

ASSISI, Italy – Jesus' cry of thirst on the cross is heard today in the cries of innocent victims of war in the world, Pope Francis said.

ASSISI, Italy – Violence in the name of God does not represent the true nature of religion and must be condemned by all faiths, Pope Francis said.