NATION/WORLD

No physical limitation or setback can diminish the value of any human being because each person is a unique and beloved child of God, Pope Francis said.

Health care is not a luxury, it is a right that belongs to everyone, Pope Francis told health care workers.

St. John the Baptist is a model for Christian witness, leading others to Jesus and then stepping out of the way so they follow the Lord and not the person who evangelized them, Pope Francis said.

Encouraging Catholics to participate in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis also announced that before the assembly of the Synod of Bishops opens in early October, there will be an ecumenical prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square.

The death of Australian Cardinal George Pell was a shock because just five days earlier he had concelebrated the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI and "seemed in good health," said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.

Francesca Chaouqui, convicted by a Vatican court in 2016 of leaking confidential Vatican documents, was back on the stand before Vatican magistrates Jan. 13, testifying in a long-running trial on financial misconduct.

The United States' chief advocate for religious freedom expressed his "disappointment" in the Vatican over its provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops in the country.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, who died in Rome Jan. 10, never made a secret of his staunch adherence to established Catholic moral teaching and his concern about fellow cardinals and bishops he saw as willing to abandon that teaching.

Pope Francis praised the late Australian Cardinal George Pell as a faithful servant of God and of the Catholic Church, who steadfastly followed the Lord even "in the hour of trial" when he was jailed for sexual abuse before his conviction was overturned by Australia's highest court.

Sharing the faith is the "oxygen" that "invigorates and purifies" Christian life, Pope Francis said.