Speaking to the group of diplomats, the pope dedicated his brief talk to "the path to peace"

The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what life is all about, Pope Francis told an international group of performers.

The pope's message was released at a Vatican news conference led by Cardinal Peter Turkson

Bishop Brennan was one of nearly 40 bishops in Rome for a regularly scheduled series of meetings with the pope

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based confederation of 165 national Catholic charities, has expressed sadness and outrage over incidents of child abuse by a Belgian Salesian priest who had been the national director of Caritas in the Central African Republic.

The role of women must be more than just "functional," the pope said.

"An economic system that is fair, trustworthy and capable of addressing the most profound challenges facing humanity and our planet is urgently needed," he said in a speech addressed to members of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism during an audience at the Vatican Nov. 11.

"The South Sudanese people have suffered too much these past years and are awaiting—with great hope—a better future, especially the permanent end of conflicts and a long-lasting peace," Pope Francis said.

The pope's message was addressed to those attending a meeting of state parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Representatives from the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the Muslim and Jewish faiths signed a joint declaration at the Vatican reaffirming each religion's clear opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.