Pope Seeks to Reassure Catholics after Marriage Flap

Pope Francis is meeting this week with 14 other religious leaders who share traditional beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

The three-day conference includes evangelicals like popular American Pastor Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life, and Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention.

During the event, the pope is taking steps to reassure social conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church after a recent controversy.

Weeks ago some Catholic bishops proposed a radical acceptance of gays and divorced Catholics, which outraged the conservative base. The proposal was later shot down.

Now the pope is affirming conservative doctrine, saying marriage between a man and a woman is a "fundamental pillar" of society.

"Complementarity [between men and women] is the basis of marriage and the family," Francis told the conference Monday. "Children have the right to grow up in a family, with a mother and a father who can create a suitable environment for their development."

It was the second papal speech emphasizing traditional church beliefs in recent days.

On Saturday, Francis pronounced some of his strongest words yet opposing abortion, euthanasia, and in vitro fertilization, sounding more like his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis also sparked excitement in the United States by announcing he'll be visiting Philadelphia next year at a rally for families.