CARTAGENA, Colombia - Pope Francis capped a five-day trip to Colombia with a call for culture change in a country attempting to pursue a path of peace and reconciliation after decades of armed conflict and centuries of social exclusion.

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia - In a raw, honest prayer service where victims and perpetrators of violence stood under the gaze of a bomb-damaged crucifix, Pope Francis urged Colombians to summon the courage to make peace.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Pope Francis arrived in Colombia Sept. 6 for a five-day visit to promote reconciliation in a deeply Catholic country scarred and reticent to offer forgiveness after decades of war.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Lilia Yaya recalls being unwelcome in the Catholic Church. Her father, a communist political organizer and labor leader, was excommunicated from the church for his views and activism. Yaya was singled out as a troublemaker in her Catholic school for her father's political activities.

VATICAN CITY – Colombia's transition to a just and lasting peace requires a commitment on behalf of all the nation's people to taking the first step toward reconciliation, Pope Francis said in a video message.

OTTAWA – Despite physical exhaustion, storms, rough waters, food shortages and waking up to slip into wet socks some mornings, Jesuit paddlers said an 850-km canoe pilgrimage fulfilled all their expectations and more.

The path to reconciliation between Canada and its First Nations’ people will ultimately be a long journey. Too large of a schism has developed among the two cultures over 400 years, with the newcomers overwhelming the founding nations.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis called on Muslims and Jews in the Holy Land to "moderation and dialogue" as tensions continued around a key site in Jerusalem that is sacred to members of both faiths.

OTTAWA – Much more needs to be done when it comes to reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples, said Canada’s Apostolic Nuncio.

WASHINGTON – Days after rebels in Colombia announced turning in the last of their cache of weapons over to international observers, the Vatican announced June 23 details of Pope Francis' September trip to the war-torn South American country.

VATICAN CITY – On the eve of President Trump’s visit to the Holy See, the newly elected president of South Korea sent a special envoy to ask for Vatican support in efforts to foster reconciliation in the Korean peninsula.

VATICAN CITY – In the prayer video for May, Pope Francis challenged the Catholic community to pray that the continent's Christians will witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.

While Sr. Priscilla Solomon doesn’t mind the pat on the back, the real bonus of being named the 2017 Pax Christi Teacher of Peace is the chance to talk about reconciliation.

VATICAN CITY – Continuing initiatives aimed at a reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, Pope Francis has made it possible for bishops to ensure the validity of marriages celebrated in the traditionalist communities.