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VATICAN CITY - Mary's assumption into heaven calls people to put aside all those insignificant, mundane and petty concerns competing for their attention and instead be drawn to God and his greatness, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis announced Thursday that he is giving 6,000 blessed rosaries to Catholic communities in Syria as a sign of his closeness on the Marian Feast of the Assumption.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis marked the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions Sunday with a message urging the protection of life and human dignity in armed conflicts.

VATICAN CITY - The ordination to the priesthood of mature, married men is among the topics to be addressed at October’s Amazon synod but is “absolutely not” one of the principle themes of the meeting, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Like the apostles who brought spiritual and physical healing to those in need, Christians are called to tend to the wounds of the suffering and the downtrodden, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis acknowledged the shame and frustration felt by priests who are discouraged by the actions of fellow clergy members who betrayed the trust of their flock through sexual abuse and abuse of conscience and power.

Prostitution is a horrendous crime that reduces vulnerable women to tortured slaves who are at the mercy of their clients, Pope Francis said.

Praying that Catholics would understand and act on "the inseparable bond" between love of God and love of neighbor, Pope Francis again appealed for a solution to the crisis in Venezuela.

Human beings are called to praise God for his gift of creation, not be predators out to plunder the earth and all it contains, Pope Francis said.

Christians are called to follow the spirit of the beatitudes by comforting the poor and the oppressed, especially migrants and refugees who are rejected, exploited and left to die, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis sent a 28-page letter to Catholics in Germany Saturday calling for a focus on evangelization in the face of the “erosion” and “decline of the faith” in the country.

VATICAN CITY - Theology develops through dialogue, not an aggressive defense of doctrine that seeks to impose its beliefs on others, Pope Francis said.

CAMERINO, Italy – Wearing a firefighter’s helmet painted white and gold for the occasion, Pope Francis entered the earthquake-damaged cathedral in Camerino and prayed before a statue of Mary missing the top of its head.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis sent a message to apostolic nuncios Thursday informing his ambassadors that they have a responsibility as papal representatives not to criticize the pope or to join groups hostile to the Roman curia.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis told Jesuits in Romania that tensions and struggles within the church have left it wounded and that the only path forward is through humble dialogue, not futile arguments. "This is not the time to convince, to have discussions," he said. "If someone has a sincere doubt, yes, one can dialogue, clarify. But don't respond to the attacks."

VATICAN CITY - Faced with a climate emergency, the world must act immediately to mitigate global warming and avoid committing "a brutal act of injustice" on the poor and future generations, Pope Francis told a group of energy and oil executives and global investors.

VATICAN CITY - Christians must not underestimate the importance of embracing and assisting the poor, oppressed and outcast, Pope Francis said.

By virtue of their baptism, all Catholics are called to be missionaries, sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus by their actions and their words, Pope Francis said.

Without the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Christians lack that which animates them and gives them internal life and harmony, Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

The world needs an ecological “conversion” in order to manifest the Church’s vision of an integral human ecology, Pope Francis said in an address to a conference on the social teaching of the Church.