Juno Arocho Esteves

"Our partners on-the-ground in Papua New Guinea are currently conducting a rapid needs assessment in the affected villages to determine the most urgent priorities," Caritas Australia stated on its website May 28.

The international community can no longer ignore the cries of the poor and the hungry who fall victim to food loss and waste, Pope Francis said.

In Slovakia, Pope Francis prayed that Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century missionary brothers who evangelized Central and Eastern Europe before the division of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, would intercede for all religious faiths in the country.  

The birth of Christ is a gift from God that brings people hope and courage in troubled times, Pope Francis said at Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican.

The most important members of the Catholic Church are not the ones who hold lofty titles and high positions but rather those who humbly serve others, Pope Francis said.

After listening to indigenous people and church leaders at the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, the Catholic Church cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of the region's people, Pope Francis said.