'One cannot insult other people's faith, one cannot make fun of faith.'

Pope Francis deplored the "abuses and inhuman acts" of Islamic State militants, and called on all religious leaders to condemn them "unanimously and unambiguously." He also said he hoped to travel to the Middle East to comfort persecuted Christians there.The pope's words appe

He warns Vatican officials of 'spiritual Alzheimer's,' other ills in Christmas greeting

Responses will serve as the basis for working document.

The Greek Orthodox flock in Turkey is estimated at no more than 4,000 people.

Pope Francis denounced a "false compassion" that would justify abortion, euthanasia, artificial reproduction technologies and medical research violating human dignity. And he urged medical doctors to "go against the current" and assert "conscientious objection" to such

Pope Francis called for preserving the family as an institution based on marriage between a man and a woman, which he said is not a political cause but a matter of "human ecology.""The complementarity of man and woman ... is at the root of marriage and the family," the pope said

Francis will attend World Meeting of Families, of North American stops unconfirmed

The Vatican's new rules for budgeting and financial reporting, which will go into effect Jan. 1, call for heightened transparency and consistency in the church's central administration and underscore the oversight powers of two economic bodies Pope Francis established in February.In one sign