NATION/WORLD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church is not going to change its position on the inadmissibility of women priests, Pope Francis said, but it does have to stop linking all decision making to ordination and allow women to have a voice in deliberations.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The thought of death and losing a loved one is scary when there is no faith in Jesus guiding people to an everlasting life, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on sharing the joy of the Gospel is a call to faith-filled optimism, recognizing challenges but knowing that God's love and lordship will prevail, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, introducing the text to the media.

In his first extensive piece of writing as pope, Pope Francis lays out a vision of the Catholic Church dedicated to evangelization in a positive key, with a focus on society's poorest and most vulnerable, including the aged and unborn.

Pope Francis closed the Year of Faith by calling on people to keep Christ at the center of their lives, especially in times of trouble.

Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Ontario, recalled once having a parish that needed a new furnace and was considering hiring a youth pastor. The parishioners raised $90,000 in three weeks for the furnace, but failed to find funds for the youth pastor, figuring there were few young people to serve.

Pope Francis once again called for Catholics to adopt a missionary mindset and make mission the priority of all pastoral activities.

The grandstand of Villamor Air Base was buzzing with teams of workers trying to help people displaced by the super typhoon that struck the central Philippines 10 days earlier. That was where some local nuns stepped in.

Purported visions of Mary, if taken in the wrong spirit, can sow confusion and distance people from the Gospel, Pope Francis said. Curiosities distance people "from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and hope, from God's glory and God's beauty," the pope said Nov. 14 during a homily at morning Mass in the Vatican guesthouse, where he lives.

In a "special message" released Nov. 13, the U.S. bishops reiterated their objections to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employee insurance include contraceptive coverage and said they remain "united in our resolve to resist this heavy burden and protect our religious freedom."