The 25th anniversary of the defeat of European communism, dramatically punctuated by the smashing of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, was a historical moment of biblical proportions. The peaceful dismantling of the Soviet empire — so much so that the Soviet Union ceased to exist altogether in 1991 — was never thought to be possible, let alone to be accomplished by the very workers and ordinary people in whose name communism ostensibly ruled. Rarely is it possible to see in history the finger of God so clearly at work.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis condemned the "absurd violence" being used against Christians in several countries and called on people of good will everywhere to take up the cause of religious freedom.

VATICAN CITY - As world leaders prepared to meet in Australia to continue looking at ways to improve the global economy, Pope Francis asked them "not to forget that many lives are at stake" behind their discussions and decisions.

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church needs priests who show their people that being Christian is a lifelong journey toward holiness, a journey that proceeds by serving God and serving their brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Pope Francis said the sudden end to the division of Europe was prepared by the prayers and sacrifice of many people, including St. John Paul II.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has removed outspoken U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke as head of the Vatican's highest court and named him to a largely ceremonial post for a chivalric religious order.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis, who has called the Catholic Church to go out to the peripheries and who described himself as coming from "the end of the Earth," will visit the heart of European secular and economic power: the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.

There is nothing novel in a Pope rejecting the death penalty, but in typical style Pope Francis went a step further recently by also denouncing life sentences. 

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis raised the prospect of no-cost marriage annulments Nov. 5 after revealing he had dismissed a Church official for selling annulments for thousands of dollars, which he called a “public scandal.”

VATICAN CITY - A month after closing a Synod of Bishops on the family stirred by controversy over divorce, same-sex unions and other non-marital relationships, Pope Francis will open an interreligious conference dedicated to traditional marriage.

VATICAN CITY - The early November feasts of All Saints and All Souls call Catholics to contemplate their ultimate destiny, hope in the eternal happiness of their beloved dead and remember the thousands of innocent people dying each day because of human evil and selfishness.

VATICAN CITY - They say you can feast like a king, and now you can eat like a pope after a young chef from the Vatican’s Swiss Guards published a cookbook featuring the favourite recipes of Pope Francis and his predecessors. 

VATICAN CITY - Although divided by ancient disputes and new developments, Christians in Europe still have an obligation to work together to help confused men and women find the answers to their spiritual thirst and their search for life's ultimate meaning, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Christian life is a constant battle against the devil, who is not the stuff of legend, but really exists, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urged an international gathering of grassroots social activists to struggle against the "structural causes" of poverty and inequality, with a "revolutionary" program drawn from the Gospels.