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Pope Francis addresses participants Feb. 7, 2020, at a Vatican conference on promoting a "global compact" for improving education by building an alliance among parents, teachers, governments and social and religious institutions. The conference was sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

'Educational compact' between families, world is broken, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- Shirking responsibilities in educating future generations has led to a collapse in cooperation among families, schools and social, cultural and religious institutions, Pope Francis said.

    Fr. Chris Piasta, chaplain at the JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York, stands behind the Our Lady of Loreto statue flanked by the Alitalia flight crew.

    Our Lady of Loreto answers a prayer

    It took a flight of faith, but after jumping through all the necessary hoops, the statue of Our Lady of Loreto finally made it to Toronto.

      Pope Francis.

      Pope Francis defrocks Argentine founder of religious institute

      VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis expelled from the priesthood the founder of Miles Christi, a religious institute based in Argentina, after he was found guilty of sexual and physical abuse.

        A man in Jiujiang, China, wears a face mask Feb. 3, 2020, as the country is hit by the coronavirus. The Vatican press office confirmed a report that appeared in the Chinese newspaper The Global Times, which said that since Jan. 27, the Vatican has sent 600,000-700,000 protective masks to China.

        Vatican donates masks to China to combat coronavirus outbreak

        VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican donated thousands of protective masks to several Chinese provinces affected by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

          Pope Francis speaks with Argentine President Alberto Fernandez during a private audience at the Vatican Jan. 31, 2020.

          Pope Francis meets with president of Argentina; no news of papal home visit

          VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis met Argentina's new president, Alberto Fernandez, amid widespread speculation that they would talk about the pope finally returning to his homeland for a visit.

            Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, an official in the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, speaks Jan. 30, 2020, at The Catholic University of America in Washington.

            Parties working to get U.S., Russia to discuss nuclear arms reduction

            WASHINGTON -- An effort is underway through nongovernmental channels to bring U.S. and Russian negotiators together to discuss new reductions in the countries' nuclear weapons arsenals, an official with the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said during a visit to The Catholic University of America.

              Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington; Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston; and Nigerian Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, retired archbishop of Abuja -- applaud Pope Francis at the end of an audience with members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Jan. 30, 2020, at the Vatican.

              Renewal of doctrine rooted in magisterium, Pope Francis says

              VATICAN CITY -- Christian doctrine is not modified to keep up with passing times nor is it rigidly closed in on itself, Pope Francis told members and advisers of the doctrinal congregation.

                The Vatican announced Jan. 25, 2020, that Pope Francis has approved the election of Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals and of Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as the subdean. The two cardinals are pictured in a June 7, 2019, and Oct. 16, 2014, combination photo.

                Cardinals Re, Sandri elected to top posts in College of Cardinals

                VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has approved the election of Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as dean of the College of Cardinals and of Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri as the subdean.

                  Pope Francis greets Iraqi President Barham Salih at the Vatican Jan. 25, 2020. The two leaders discussed guaranteeing the safety of Christians and the need for promoting stability, reconstruction, national sovereignty and dialogue in the country.

                  Pope Francis meets with Iraqi president

                  VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis met with Iraq's president for private talks underlining the need for promoting stability, reconstruction, national sovereignty and dialogue in the country as well as guaranteeing security for Christians.

                    Poor Clare Sisters Claudia and Mary Marguerite pose for a photo Aug. 11, 2019, outside the Monastery of St. Clare in Memphis, Tenn. The monastery closed at the end of the year.

                    A long, sad farewell to a monastery

                    MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- As Christmas approached and the year came to a close, the Monastery of St. Clare, home to the Poor Clare contemplative nuns for 87 years in Tennessee, quietly closed.

                      Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is pictured in a 2014 photo. In an interview for the February edition of "Chiesa Donna Mondo," the Vatican newspaper's monthly women's magazine, the cardinal said sexual abuse and the abuse of authority have occurred and are occurring within religious orders of women and must be addressed with transparency and boldness.

                      Abuse happens within women's orders, too, cardinal says

                      VATICAN CITY -- Sexual abuse and the abuse of authority have occurred and are occurring within religious orders of women and must be addressed with transparency and boldness, said Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

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