VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis came out squarely against the death penalty once again, calling it "unacceptable" regardless of the seriousness of the crime of the condemned.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis accepted Scotland Cardinal Keith O'Brien's decision to renounce all "duties and privileges" associated with being a cardinal.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has approved a miracle so that, for the first time, a married couple can be canonized together.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - The Catholic Church needs men to fully commit to their faith, and men have all they need from God "to be a force" for the church, a former major league baseball player told a men's conference in Franklin.

The “Pope of the Interview” strikes again: Pope Francis has given a lengthy — and fascinating — interview to a Mexican television station, which broadcast it on March 13 to mark the second anniversary of his election.

VATICAN CITY - One reason the cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis two years ago was a brief but powerful speech the Argentine cardinal made shortly before the conclave in which he denounced the “theological narcissism” of the Roman Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY - A small, inconspicuous cemetery inside the Vatican walls made headlines recently with the burial of a Belgian homeless man, Willy Herteleer.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church's "mission to be a witness of mercy."

VATICAN CITY - When Pope Francis went out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for the first time, he said he did not prepare what he was going to say, but "I felt deeply that a minister needs the blessing of God, but also of his people."

VATICAN CITY - Hearing a Catholic's confession should be awe-inspiring for a priest, an experience that makes him look at his own life and willingness to convert, Pope Francis told a group of seminarians, new priests and priests who hear confessions in the major basilicas of Rome.