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May 24, 2014
AMMAN, Jordan - Celebrating Mass on his first day in the Holy Land, Pope Francis said hope for peace in a region torn by sectarian conflicts comes from faith in God.
Pope Francis was barely off the plane in Amman, Jordan when he began to take on the hardest and most delicate issues in the Middle East – including refugees.
AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan's powerful and marginalized joined together at the banks of the River Jordan to welcome Pope Francis at the site believed to be where Jesus was baptized.
May 25, 2014
BETHLEHEM - The faithful began arriving in Manger Square four hours in advance of Pope Francis' appearance, waving flags, shaking hands, buzzing with excitement. With three hours to go the people are singing hymns.
BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Celebrating Mass a few steps from the spot traditionally believed to the birthplace of Jesus, Pope Francis said that the way society treats its young reveals its moral character.
BETHLEHEM - Pope Francis has offered his home, the Vatican, to Israeli President Shimon Perez and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to pray together for peace.
Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both on record accepting the invitation from Pope Francis to come and pray for peace at the Vatican.
May 26, 2014
JERUSALEM - Half a century after a historic encounter between their predecessors, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met in the same place to seek inspiration for Christian unity at the site of Christ's death and resurrection.
TORONTO - On May 24 eight men entered St. Paul's Basilica in Toronto only to leave a short time later as the archdiocese's newest deacons.
KHARTOUM, Sudan - Churches in Sudan, including the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference, have condemned the death sentence handed to a pregnant Christian who refused to renounce her faith.
OXFORD, England - The Ukrainian Catholic Church has welcomed the victory of a billionaire candy tycoon in presidential election and praised the previous interim government for holding the country together in "dramatic circumstances."
JERUSALEM - Pope Francis spent the last morning of his three-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land meeting with Muslims and Jews and calling for closer relations among the three major monotheistic religions as the basis for peace in the region.
JERUSALEM - Pope Francis dedicated his final hours in Jerusalem to time with local Catholics, reminding them that despite difficulties, God is always by their side.
OTTAWA - Campaign Life Coalition hopes Prime Minister Stephen Harper's international summit May 28-30 in Toronto is “successful and life-affirming in its results,” says its Ottawa lobbyist.
JERUSALEM - The Pope had a simple plan as he set out for the Holy Land with a rabbi and a Muslim sheik in tow. But simple plans can be difficult to execute.
May 27, 2014
OTTAWA - Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is under fire for violating a promise of a free vote on euthanasia in Quebec.
Pope Francis will meet with a group of sex abuse victims for the first time in June, he told reporters May 26.
May 28, 2014
OTTAWA - The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec warns the adoption of euthanasia Bill-52 would have serious and harmful consequences for the future of Quebec.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis told reporters May 26 that "three bishops are under investigation" for misdeeds related to the sexual abuse of minors and that "one has already been condemned and his penalty is being studied."
WARSAW, Poland - A Catholic bishop in eastern Ukraine said church members are afraid to attend Mass in Donetsk and other towns after a priest from Poland was abducted by pro-Russia separatists.