If upholding a nation’s laws is dependent on the politics of those in power or on their opinion about who is and is not deserving of protection, then democracy and justice are threatened, Pope Francis said.

As Vatican workers continued to decorate the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square and to erect a platform for the Nativity scene, the office of papal liturgical ceremonies published the list of holiday Masses and prayer services Pope Francis would celebrate.

An important part of the mission of Catholic media is to forgo the shocking, sensational or superficial when such stories present the people involved as less than human and unworthy of respect, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis is breathing easier after undergoing intravenous antibiotic treatment for pulmonary inflammation, the director of the Vatican press office said.

Explaining that he had a “problem with inflammation of my lungs,” Pope Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer from the chapel of his residence rather than from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Marking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi putting together the first Christmas crèche in a cave in Greccio, Italy, the Vatican publishing house compiled texts by Pope Francis about Nativity scenes and asked him to write a special introduction.

When Pope Francis visits Dubai in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 1-3 to address the opening of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, he will be the first pope ever to attend one of the global gatherings that began in 1995.

With hopes growing for a temporary, humanitarian cease-fire, Pope Francis met at the Vatican Nov. 22 with relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and, separately, with relatives of Palestinians suffering under the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Pope Francis appealed for perseverance in praying for peace, especially in the Holy Land where the conflict is no longer “warfare,” but has become “terrorism.”

A person hearing God’s call to follow him does not mean that person then belongs to a special or privileged clique of the perfect or the “elected,” Pope Francis said.