"Human life is sacred and inviolable and the use of prenatal diagnosis for selective purposes must be strongly discouraged because it is the expression of an inhuman eugenic mentality, which deprives families of the possibility of welcoming, embracing and loving their weakest children," the pope said on May 25.

Pope Francis told the bishops of Italy that he was disappointed that so many of their dioceses had yet to implement the reforms he ordered to make the marriage annulment process quicker, more pastoral and less expensive.

Pope Francis has gone “to the peripheries,” creating cardinals from 50 different nations, but Europe still accounts for more than 40 percent of electors in the College of Cardinals.

The papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, visited the Greek island of Lesbos, where migrants are being held pending the review of their status. He went to see firsthand what the migrants' living conditions really are and what is being done to assist them.

When a Greek priest suggested that if Greece found a home for all the migrants and refugees in its camps, Turkey would just let more come over, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski balked.

Pope Francis told reporters May 7 he had been kept informed about Jean Vanier's failing health and had phoned him a week before his death.

"In that Caritas center are many Christians who have learned to see with God's own eyes," Pope Francis said. "God is not worried about details but seeks out and awaits each person with a father's eyes."

The president of France and the archbishop of Paris have vowed to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after a devastating fire.

Pope Francis knelt at the feet of the leaders of South Sudan, begging them to give peace a chance and to be worthy "fathers of the nation."

In a recent audience with children from Milan's Instituto San Carlo, Pope Francis said that God does not play favorites; it is humans who cause suffering and pain and that we must become aware of how we act toward others.