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VATICAN CITY – Defending the weak or hopeless and becoming a servant to those most in need is the best promotion one can ever receive, Pope Francis told new and old cardinals.

VATICAN CITY – That only men can be validly ordained to the priesthood is a truth that is part of the Catholic faith and will not and cannot change, said Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

VATICAN CITY – In a letter to Catholics in Chile, Pope Francis expressed shame for the church’s failure to listen and defend survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis announced he would make 14 new cardinals June 29, giving the red cardinal’s hat to the papal almoner, the Iraq-based patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan, among others.

VATICAN CITY – Close to 100 financiers, philanthropists, artists, tech experts, physicians, politicians and religious leaders spent more than an hour in a Vatican meeting room talking about tenderness.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ new document, “Gaudete et Exsultate,” shows that holiness is not an impossible task nor is it something to be pursued far removed from today’s world, said the papal vicar for the Diocese of Rome.

VATICAN CITY – Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating “prefabricated” responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.

VATICAN CITY – Misunderstanding the generous service and obedience of women religious leads to their being exploited and underappreciated, according to an investigative report in a Vatican magazine.

ROME – The fuller participation of women in decision-making in the Catholic Church is a continuing process that still needs time, Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell said.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ exhortation on the family should prompt discussion and even debate, but accusing him and others of heresy is completely out of place, said German Cardinal Walter Kasper.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of Blesseds Paul VI and Oscar Romero.

ROME – Intentionally causing a patient’s death is different from accepting that a patient is dying, then providing emotional and spiritual support and pain relief, said a doctor who practices and promotes palliative care.

VATICAN CITY – No physician should be forced to choose between violating his or her conscience and facing professional sanctions when defending human life, said the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.

LIMA, Peru – Pope Francis tackled politically charged issues during his weeklong visit to Chile and Peru, decrying human trafficking, environmental destruction, corruption and organized crime in speeches before audiences that included political leaders.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PERU – Pope Francis apologized to victims of clergy sex abuse, saying he unknowingly wounded them by the way he defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse by his mentor.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis marked the Feast of the Epiphany by encouraging faithful to imitate the actions of the Magi, who weren’t attached to worldly comforts, but were willing to go out and take risks in order to find Jesus.

JERUSALEM – In an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, Christian leaders in Jerusalem said U.S. recognition of the city as the capital of Israel could have dire regional consequences.

VATICAN CITY – The Italian and English translations of the “Our Father” can give believers the wrong impression that God can and does lead people into temptation, Pope Francis said.

Mary and the Christ Child are depicted in a 1997 painting by Elizabeth Wang. The feast of the Nativity of Christ, a holy day of obligation, is celebrated Dec. 25.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – The themes chosen by the local bishops for Pope Francis’ visits to Myanmar and Bangladesh – “Love and peace” and “Harmony and peace” – sounded naive or just too “nicey-nice” to some people.