"Like Bishop Barnes said, this is a time for prayer, a time to pray for peace...I know there are many people all over who are praying for us here in such a terrible time, and I want to extend my thanks to all of them. We don't need any more violence."

North Americans and Salvadorans gathered Dec. 2 at the precise spot where four churchwomen were killed 35 years ago to emphasize that their work for the country's poor remains alive.

Pope Francis is inviting people to strike out on a yearlong spiritual journey to recognize a loving God who's already knocking on their door. He says he wants the Year of Mercy to usher in a "revolution of tenderness."

With the recent increase in deadly attacks and kidnappings linked to the Islamic State and other militant groups, however, Imam Shareef has increasingly found himself tasked with the additional—and often daunting—challenge of distancing the "Islam of peace," as his community knows and practices it, from that of what he calls a minority of extremists giving Islam a bad name.

The world premiere of "Call Me Francesco," the first movie based on the life of Pope Francis, took place in the Vatican audience hall Dec. 1 and those considered celebrities in the eyes of the pope were in attendance.

In the wake of yet another mass shooting even in the United States, the Diocese of San Bernardino and its bishop the Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes issued a statement "calling for prayers for all of the victims of this horrific incident and their families."