Calling the accusations "without foundation and utterly false," the cardinal "strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican secretary for relations with states, attended the Syria Donors Conference in London Feb. 4 and said the Catholic Church would continue to help the region through its fundraising efforts.

Use the power of communication to build bridges and heal wounds, not generate hatred or misunderstanding, Pope Francis said. The Catholic Church, too, must proclaim the truth and denounce injustice without alienating everyone in need of God's help, he said in his message for World Communica

"He wanted to visit the sanctuary and places where St. Francis, on Christmas Eve in 1223, represented the first living Nativity in history," Bishop Domenico Pompili of Rieti told ANSA, the Italian news agency.

European finance experts said the Vatican has addressed "most of the technical deficiencies in its legislation and regulations... However, there is a need now for the anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing system to deliver effective results in terms of prosecutions, convictions and confiscation" of criminal assets.

Building peace, he said, is not accomplished by words alone, but through the grace of God.

The Vatican announced details about the pope's Feb. 12-17 trip to Mexico, during which he will stop in six cities, including two in the state of Chiapas and—across from El Paso, Texas—Ciudad Juarez, which just five years ago was considered the "murder capital of the world" as drug cartels disputed a trafficking corridor.

Pope Francis is inviting people to strike out on a yearlong spiritual journey to recognize a loving God who's already knocking on their door. He says he wants the Year of Mercy to usher in a "revolution of tenderness."

Pope Francis has said "it would be tragic" if special interests "manipulated information" and won out over the common good, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Nov. 30.

Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics "obsessed" with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearful church that forgets Christ is always by its side.