MORELIA, Mexico - The devil loves Christians -- especially priests and nuns -- who are resigned to the violence and corruption around them, Pope Francis said.

For centuries pilgrims have arrived in Bethlehem at Christmas to celebrate where Christ was born at the site of the present-day Church of the Nativity. But this will be a December of modest crowds and muted celebrations due to an autumn of violence in the West Bank.

OXFORD, England - The secretary-general of Mali's Catholic bishops' conference said he fears the Nov. 20 hotel attack in Bamako forms part of a wider Islamist campaign, but insisted Catholic-Muslim ties will not be affected by the latest violence.

VATICAN CITY - "Jesus wept." Pope Francis opened his morning homily with those words as he spoke about the wars and violence engulfing numerous parts of the world.

Members of Toronto’s jazz community are coming together for one night of swingin’ and scattin’ to help end violence against women and their families.

VATICAN CITY - A Comboni missionary in the Central Africa Republic, recounting the violence taking place around his parish in the capital, expressed hope that Pope Francis' planned visit would open people's hearts to God's love and "renew the face of this beautiful country drenched in blood."

JERUSALEM - Unrest flared in early October throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, which has experienced tensions during September, largely over the status of the contested holy site of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.

PHILADELPHIA - Help and healing is possible for Catholic families suffering with violence in the home, said psychologist Christauria Welland.

NEW YORK - Honoring both the pain and the strength of the families of those who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and drawing on the pools of water that are part of the site's memorial, Pope Francis spoke about tears and quenching the world's longing for peace."The water we see flowing toward that empty pit remind us of all those lives" lost in 2001, he said. "The flowing water is also a symbol of our tears. Tears at so much devastation and ruin, past and present."

VATICAN CITY - "Do something to put a stop to the violence and oppression," Pope Francis asked the international community after calling attention once again to the fate of persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East.

OXFORD, England - A Catholic aid worker in Mali said Islamist violence failed to disrupt friendly ties between Christians and Muslims, and he called for a coordinated development strategy as "the best means to combat extremism."

JERUSALEM - The church body authorized by the Vatican to oversee the Catholic Church’s property in Israel has asked Israel’s attorney general to indict a Jewish extremist who, it says, recently incited violence against Israel’s Christian churches.

ST. LOUIS - Forgiveness. Such a simple word, a mere 11 letters but it's at the heart of the Catholic faith, along with love, peace and justice, said the archbishop of St. Louis.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces has asked pastors, deacons and parish leaders in the diocese "to exercise increased vigilance in our parish surroundings and activities."

LAFAYETTE, La. - Bishop Michael Jarrell of Lafayette offered prayers and sympathy to the victims of a multiplex cinema shooting July 23 in Lafayette in which two were killed and nine wounded.