VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis accepted the early retirement request of Italian Bishop Gianfranco Todisco, who begged to be allowed to return to missionary work or to be sent "to the farthest, most disadvantaged" diocese.

ROME – Fifteen Franciscan friars continue to live and work in Syria; two of the friars minister in towns controlled by Islamic State forces.

ROME – Two weeks after the U.S. State Department honoured her as a Woman of Courage, a Salesian sister from Syria told reporters President Donald Trump's decision to bomb a Syrian air base is another step back from peace.

VATICAN CITY – The superiors of the four main branches of the Franciscan friars formally asked Pope Francis for permission to allow their communities to elect brothers to positions of leadership in their communities.

VATICAN CITY – Taken together, the 10 countries with the most Catholics account for almost 56 per cent of the world's Catholic population, the Vatican reported.

VATICAN CITY – A more Christian, as well as more effective, approach to the global migration crisis would be to move from a concern about "national security" to a concern for "common security," Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila told participants at a Vatican conference.

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church's commitment to promoting justice, defending human dignity, building peace and promoting development is a response to a Christian vision of the world and its purpose, which ultimately is to reach happiness with God, Vatican officials said at a conference.

VATICAN CITY – Highlighting Catholic shrines' potential to strengthen the faith of Catholics and draw people to Christianity, Pope Francis transferred responsibility for coordinating the activity of shrines to the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

ROME (CNS) – Pope Francis asked 45,000 children preparing for confirmation to promise Jesus they would never engage in bullying.

VATICAN CITY – As the Vatican Secretariat for Communication works to unify Vatican media efforts, a key pastoral concern is to keep open all the channels that allow Pope Francis to speak to the world.