VATICAN CITY - Christmas is a reminder that through the birth of Christ, hope and peace are possible and that only through his grace can humanity find peaceful solutions to the world's most difficult problems, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis was selected to be the 2016 recipient of Germany's Charlemagne Prize for his commitment in promoting European unity.

VATICAN CITY - Take care of your marriage and aging parents, play with your kids, and always make peace at the end of the day, Pope Francis told Vatican employees and their families.

VATICAN CITY - If Pope Francis sees the Church as a field hospital after battle, then his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia often looks like the triage tent, with him holding the charts.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis endorsed a recent UN resolution on peace in Syria and expressed "deep appreciation" to the international community for reaching an agreement.

VATICAN CITY - Seeing baby Jesus in the Nativity scene reminds people that Christ uses humility and love to save the world, not impressive force or a magic wand, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, thus paving the way for her canonization.

VATICAN CITY - To follow a path toward Christ, one must follow the good path of forgiveness, peace and solidarity, and avoid following the evil path of vengeance, war and selfishness, Pope Francis told hundreds of Italian children.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - In a sprawling working class parish founded by Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio long before he became archbishop of Buenos Aires and later Pope Francis, the faithful are lamenting the results of Argentina's November elections in which businessman Mauricio Macri was elected president.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is warning Catholics about con artists demanding money to pass through a holy door, such as the one opened in St. Peter’s Basilica and other churches for the Vatican’s jubilee year, telling them salvation cannot be bought.

OTTAWA - The papal nuncio to Canada says Pope Francis is aware of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for the Pope to deliver an apology for past Church abuses in Canada’s Indian residential schools and is sure he “is listening with all his heart as a pastor.”

OXFORD, England - A Catholic leader in the Central African Republic said Christian-Muslim ties were affected positively by Pope Francis' Nov. 29-30 visit and his simple message of living peacefully.

CHICAGO - With the poverty on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, Pope Francis' visit to the region in February will be an important opportunity for the Catholic Church "to emphasize the mercy of God that is at the core of the Christian faith."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will visit some of the most marginalized communities in Mexico and seek to bring hope to a country deeply suffering from crime, corruption and inequality when he visits in February.

PARIS - German Msgr. Josef Sayer prayed over a crowd of environmental activists at Saint-Merry Catholic Church, where they had joined for Mass after two weeks of intense lobbying in and around the U.N. climate change conference.