Pope Francis delivers "State of the World" address



VATICAN CITY (FOX) -- Pope Francis delivered his first "State of the World" address to a group of diplomats on Monday, January 13th.

The pontiff focused his speech mostly on the Middle East. He's calling for a renewed political will to end the conflict in Syria. Pope Francis hopes the Geneva 2 Conference will mark the beginning for the desired peace process.

The pope also went on to address the controversial subject of abortion -- referring to the practice as "horrific." This is the first time Pope Francis has sternly spoken out against abortion. The Roman Catholic Church has criticized the pontiff in recent months for not forcefully addressing the issue in past interviews.