NATION/WORLD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Artificial intelligence or any other technology that worsens inequality around the world and increases fake news should not be embraced as "progress," Pope Francis told business and government leaders meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "Technological developments that do not improve life for everyone, but instead create or worsen inequalities and conflicts, cannot be called true progress," the pope said in a message to the World Economic Forum.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God tells Christians not to be afraid because he is always close, accompanying the faithful throughout their lives and through all their challenges, Pope Francis said "God says 'Do not be afraid' to Abraham, Isaac" and many others in the Bible, but "he says it to us, too. 'Be not afraid,' keep going," because God "is your traveling companion," the pope said Jan. 22 during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The best investments to make are the ones that benefit other people, Pope Francis said. "When we put wealth at the service of the dignity of people, we cannot but profit, always. Indeed, promoting the common good improves the bonds of the society in which we participate," he said during an audience at the Vatican Jan. 18, with a Catholic foundation funding different projects in Verona, Italy.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During the Holy Year 2025, which is centered on proclaiming a message of hope, Pope Francis told future priests to let hope be the guiding principle of their lives. "In the journey of life, we could identify hope as the signpost that marks our itinerary," he said during a meeting with seminarians from Córdoba, Spain, Jan. 17.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When children are baptized, their parents and the church are giving them the greatest gift ever: the gift of faith, Pope Francis said before baptizing 21 infants in the Sistine Chapel. "Let us ask the Lord that they grow in the faith, a true humanity (and) in the joy of family," he said in his brief homily at Mass on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 12. Afterward, he led the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "I am praying for all of you," Pope Francis said, using his televised Sunday Angelus address to speak directly to the people impacted by the wildfires in Southern California. "I am close to the residents of Los Angeles County, California, where devastating fires have broken out in recent days," the pope told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Jan. 12 to pray the Angelus with him.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God's unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said. Despite being born into a world "where there is a great need for light, for hope and a need for peace, a world where people at times create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to get out of them," Jesus, the pope said, opens windows of light "even in the darkest nights of humanity."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as the star over Bethlehem called to and welcomed everyone to encounter the newborn Jesus, God today calls on the faithful to welcome everyone, creating safe, open spaces to find warmth and shelter, Pope Francis said. The star is in the sky not to remain distant and inaccessible, he said, "but so that its light may be visible to all, that it may reach every home and overcome every barrier, bringing hope to the most remote and forgotten corners of the planet," he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A key part of a jubilee in the Bible was releasing prisoners, and Catholics today can join a global campaign to press for the release of thousands of people imprisoned in poverty because of their nations' foreign debt, said an official of Caritas Internationalis. Victor Genina Cervantes, director of integral human development at Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization for national Catholic charities around the world, presented the campaign "Turn Debt into Hope" at a Vatican news conference Dec. 23, the eve of the opening of Holy Year 2025.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cautioning against the monotony of routine that dims the capacity to appreciate the extraordinary, Pope Francis urged young people to experience Christmas as a time to develop a sense of wonder. "Let us learn to be amazed," he told young members of the Italian Catholic Action movement during a meeting at the Vatican Dec. 20. "Let us learn never to take anything for granted, especially love: that of God and that of the people we meet."