VATICAN CITY - Presiding over the wedding of 20 couples in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis celebrated marriage as the union of a man and woman playing complementary roles during their common journey through life.

Robert Blair Kaiser’s analysis of what makes Pope Francis tick is a wonderful read and to be promoted. But it’s not what I was expecting.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 25.

VATICAN CITY - Among the men and women Pope Francis was set to unite in marriage were Catholics who have been living together as well as couples who already have children.

Shimon Peres has been a witness to inter-religious strife most of his life. The former Israeli President, now 91, shared a Nobel Peace prize with Yasser Arafat and has lived through several Middle East wars. He has experienced the link between religious extremism and terrorism.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will visit Turkey in November, eight years after his predecessor, Benedict XVI, made a landmark visit to the predominantly Muslim country.

MIAMI - Pope Francis sent a letter of condolence to the family a Steven Sotloff, the second U.S. journalist slain this summer by ISIS, also known as Islamic State.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland - For years, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, refused to heed repeated calls for him to step down over alleged cover-ups of sexual abuse of children by clergy.

VATICAN CITY - War is just "senseless slaughter" and should never be seen as inevitable or a done deal, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Walking to a cemetery on All Saints' Day, watching television past 10 p.m., even slaughtering a kid goat on Easter were once so highly suspect in Albania, they would trigger neighbourhood spies to tip off communist authorities.

VATICAN CITY - The wisdom of "It takes a village to raise a child" has been lost as kids are either overprotected by permissive parents or neglected, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Iraqi Christians are true and courageous witnesses of Christ's message of hope, forgiveness and love, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Former Israeli President Shimon Peres asked Pope Francis to head a parallel United Nations called the "United Religions" to counter religious extremism in the world today.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' choice of Albania as the destination of his first international trip in Europe reflects his trademark pastoral approach: Head to the peripheries, bring healing to the suffering.

WASHINGTON - In the days that followed Pope Francis' Aug. 18 remarks on U.S. airstrikes earlier in the month against Islamic State, the buzz was about whether the Pope had actually given his consent to them.