Moira McQueen, mother of eight and moral theologian, thought Pope Francis’ off-the-cuff remark about Catholics reproducing like rabbits was hilarious.

The news cycle is like a popularity contest — and Pope Francis is winning.

VATICAN CITY - Christians are united in bloodshed as they suffer from violence and persecution in various parts of the world, Pope Francis told Christian leaders.

Despite the economic downturn of recent years, bank accounts of the world’s billionaires have  grown deliberately fatter as the financial canyon between rich and poor has widened. It has reached a point that by 2016 the world’s richest one per cent could own more than half the planet’s wealth.

“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!”   
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel)

Pope Francis made an apostolic visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines Jan. 13-19, 2015. The Sri Lanka highlight was the canonization of St. Joseph Vaz. In the Philippines, the Pope celebrated Mass with six million people in Manilla. All the articles from his trip are listed below, including some Canadian reaction written by Register reporters Michael Swan and Evan Boudreau.

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis told a crowd of an estimated six million gathered in a Manila park to protect the family "against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture."

MANILA, Philippines - Young people drew inspiration from an encounter with Pope Francis at the University of Santo Tomas.

TACLOBAN, Philippines - Among more than 100,000 people who braved an approaching tropical storm and waited long hours to attend Mass with Pope Francis Jan. 17 were survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.

MANILA, Philippines - The record-breaking papal Mass in Rizal Park coincided with one of the most popular feast days in the Philippines: Santo Nino Day, or the feast of the Holy Child Jesus.

NAPA, Calif. - It was a good thing for Trinitas Cellars that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis, and not, say Pope Malbecius.

MANILA, Philippines - In a nation plagued repeatedly by corruption scandals, Pope Francis urged "everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor."

MANILA, Philippines - Appealing to the traditional values of Filipino Catholic families, Pope Francis made one of his strongest calls as Pope against movements to recognize same-sex unions as marriage.

TORONTO - Pope Francis’ “profound sense of authenticity” is what attracts young people to the pontiff, says Catholic media personality Cheridan Sanders.

MANILA, Philippines - The Gospel has the power to transform society, ensuring justice and care for the poor, but that can happen only if Christians -- beginning with the church's ministers -- allow the Gospel to transform them, Pope Francis said.