Christians today can fall into the temptation of creating their own idols, Pope Francis tells an audience including the musician Sting.

The letter also requested that health plans which include abortion notify consumers of that fact at the time of enrollment to prevent consumers from buying such plans if they who do not wish to.

"Making this a gay issue is distraction, mostly, an attempt to place blame mostly (away from) from the clerical cover-up culture. It does a major disservice to women who were abused by the church and also a major disservice to gay priests."

Held in a school, the seven-week day camp combines sports, games, art and activities such as cooking, music and dance with a mix of instruction in nutrition, hygiene, math, English and Bible study.

Officials said most of the casualties were caused by falling rubble as buildings collapsed. There were no reported foreigners among the dead, but some media reports claimed several fatalities in the neighboring Gili Islands.

The church in Zimbabwe said it is prepared to mediate between government and opposition leaders after six people were killed in violence that followed a disputed presidential election.