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February 2016

February 15

At children's hospital, Pope prescribes 'kindness therapy'

February 15, 2016

MEXICO CITY – A little bit of kindness can go a long way when recovering from illness, Pope Francis told a group of young patients.

In crime-plagued periphery, Pope preaches conversion

February 15, 2016

ECATEPEC, Mexico - Pope Francis began his travels to Mexico's "peripheries" by visiting an overcrowded, sprawling settlement known internationally as a hunting ground for girls to force into prostitution and for boys to enlist in the drug trade.

'Tatic Francis' affirms Mexico's indigenous people in visit to Chiapas

February 15, 2016

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - Paying homage to the culture and ancient wisdom of Mexico's indigenous peoples, Pope Francis urged them to hold on to hope and condemned those who exploit their people and their land.

February 16

At El Paso church, people pray day and night for Pope in Mexico

February 16, 2016

EL PASO, Texas - In Segundo Barrio, people having been praying day and night for Pope Francis since he set foot in Mexico.

Mexican politicians eager to show themselves meeting Pope Francis

February 16, 2016

MEXICO CITY - Shortly after arriving in Mexico City Feb. 12, President Enrique Pena Nieto introduced Pope Francis to most of his Cabinet and senior staff. The next morning, he introduced the pope again to his team at the National Palace in central Mexico City, where presidents and leaders have projected power to the country since colonial times.

In southern Mexico, Pope warns against diminishing importance of family

February 16, 2016

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico - Pope Francis warned against moves to diminish the importance of the family, peppering his talk with anecdotes and off-the-cuff remarks that kept a packed soccer stadium cheering, laughing and applauding.

Pope's visit is a call to live a merciful life, cloistered nun says

February 16, 2016

MORELIA, Mexico - Pope Francis' visit to Morelia will be a call for those suffering to continue along the path of good and an encouragement for those in religious life to live their vocations with mercy, tenderness and love, said a cloistered Mexican nun.

Talk to new bishops does not change guidelines on abuse, Vatican says

February 16, 2016

VATICAN CITY - A talk given to new bishops during a Vatican-sponsored course does not represent new guidelines on the church's response to abuse against minors by religious, a Vatican spokesman said.

Devil wants church resigned to violence; resist him, Pope says

February 16, 2016

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

El Paso Diocese gets ready for rendezvous with Pope Francis

February 16, 2016

EL PASO, Texas - Two days before Pope Francis' main event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the Diocese of El Paso was coordinating the final touches to its own two main papal events.

Religious Freedom office receives temporary extension

February 16, 2016

OTTAWA - Religious Freedom Ambassador Andrew Bennett has received a temporary extension of his contract with Global Affairs Canada—at least until March 31.

February 17

Jesus calls us to be disciples, not hitmen, pope tells youth

February 17, 2016

MORELIA, Mexico - Jesus never sends anyone out as a hitman, dealing in death, but calls Christians to be his disciples and friends, Pope Francis told Mexico's youth.

Pope praises former U.N. secretary-general's generous service to world

February 17, 2016

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis praised the "generous service" of the former secretary-general of the United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and offered his condolences and prayers in the wake of his death.

Ceremony celebrates 8,000 years of marriage

February 17, 2016

TORONTO - A marriage story that began 60 years ago in the Philippines added another chapter at a packed church in Toronto as George and Dolores Poblete joined 229 other couples in a Valentine’s Day celebration of life-long love.

Pope snaps at pilgrim who caused him to fall into boy in wheelchair

February 17, 2016

MORELIA, Mexico - Excitement turned potentially dangerous and elicited an angry snap from Pope Francis at a meeting with young people in Morelia Feb. 16.

Pope tells Mexican prisoners society needs system of 'social health'

February 17, 2016

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Pope Francis urged society to rethink its ideas of locking up inmates and throwing away the key, calling such an approach another symptom of the "throwaway culture" he often decries and "a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned its children."

Panel urges deeper look at immigration to see 'moral implications'

February 17, 2016

EL PASO, Texas - The supposed political hues of Pope Francis' visit to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, recently raised by a U.S. presidential candidate and media coverage of those remarks came up during a news conference with Catholic officials in El Paso today.

Stop slavery; negotiate wages, working conditions, Pope urges Mexicans

February 17, 2016

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - God will hold humanity responsible for enslaving the poor and treating people as less important than profits, Pope Francis told Mexican workers and business leaders.

In silence, Pope remembers migrants who cross Mexican-U.S. border

February 17, 2016

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - At the border of Mexico and the United States, Pope Francis blessed a large cross in memory of all the people who have crossed the frontier.

February 18

D&P’s Share Lent seeks to foster change

February 18, 2016

Each year during Lent the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace makes its major push for funding, tapping the one source that not only keeps the organization afloat but also the only source of funding that can validate its existence — ordinary Canadian Catholics.