VATICAN – Promoting and defending Catholic teaching is itself a pastoral practice, said Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

VATICAN – On the eve of the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis' election, retired Pope Benedict XVI defended the continuity of the church's teaching under his successor and dismissed those who criticize the Pope's theological foundations.

In 2015 the Pope gave an interview to the Mexican media giant Televisa and said, “I have the sense that my pontificate will be brief — four or five years.” On March 13 he will have hit the five-year mark. He is 81 years old.

VATICAN – True Christians take risks to constantly seek out Christ, because they know that receiving God's grace is just the beginning of a lifelong journey toward real joy, Pope Francis said.

By truly listening to the penitent during confession, "we listen to Jesus himself, poor and humble; by listening to the Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in attentive obedience, becoming listeners of the Word" in order to know what God wants to be done, he said.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has chosen the theme and appointed members of the preparatory council for the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region, which will take place in Rome in October 2019.

On March 13, 2013 the new pope, a surprise selection, received thunderous cheers when introduced to thousands of pilgrims packed into a drizzly St. Peter’s Square. It was a precedent-setting night. Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first South American pope, the first Jesuit pope and the first pope named Francis.

VATICAN – Liberating the poor, the oppressed and the persecuted is an integral part of what God wants his church to do, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – In light of this year's Synod of Bishops on young people, Pope Francis has asked that the Way of the Cross meditations be written by a group of students.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of Blesseds Paul VI and Oscar Romero.

ROME –The Catholic Church and Catholic agencies that work with migrants and refugees around the world are called to educate, advocate and seek alternative host countries in the face of a growing "refusal to welcome" newcomers, as the Vatican secretary of state defined the situation.

VATICAN – Christians must let go of resentments and forgive those who have wronged them so that they may experience God's forgiveness, Pope Francis.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has decreed that Latin-rite Catholics around the world will mark the feast of "the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church" on the Monday after Pentecost each year.

VATICAN – Pope Francis used a meeting with thousands of Italian nurses to pay tribute to a nurse he believes saved his life by arguing with his doctors that he needed more aggressive antibiotics to treat a lung infection.

VATICAN – Like Jesus cast out the merchants from the temple in Jerusalem, we should drive the desire for personal gain and advantage from our hearts, replacing it with love, Pope Francis said Sunday.