Pope Francis on Wednesday said that international organizations, such as the United Nations, have proven to be useless in stopping violence and atrocities in the war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis on Wednesday said that international organizations, such as the United Nations, have proven to be useless in stopping violence and atrocities in the war in Ukraine.
Christians who truly imitate Jesus are more inclined to forgive and be merciful than those who, under the pretense of holiness, point fingers and condemn others, Pope Francis said.
In another of his “blink and you’ll miss it” overseas trips, generally one or two-day affairs within Europe and the Mediterranean, Pope Francis arrives Saturday morning on the island nation of Malta and will be on the ground just 18 hours, returning to the Vatican by Sunday night.
One of the nation’s foremost champions for the cause of female deacons considers the Vatican’s new apostolic constitution — which in part opens top Vatican leadership roles to any baptized layperson, including women — an important step for Pope Francis’s vision, but not necessarily one that affects the future of women in the diaconate.
In three separate meetings March 28 and March 31, Pope Francis will listen to the experiences of representatives of Canada’s Indigenous communities, experiences that include being sent as children to residential schools operated by Catholic dioceses and religious orders.
Members of the Métis National Council gave Pope Francis a set of beaded moccasins and asked him to walk with them on the path of truth, justice and healing of Canada’s Indigenous communities and their relationship with the Catholic Church, said Cassidy Caron, president of the council.
With many, but not all, COVID-19 restrictions eased in many parts of the world, the Vatican asked bishops and priests to be prudent in their planning for Holy Week and Easter liturgies but offered no firm instructions.
Confession helps the penitent and also the confessor, who has the opportunity to be like the father of the prodigal son and experience the joy of seeing a child return home, Pope Francis said.
As Russia’s violent monthlong invasion continued to devastate Ukraine, Pope Francis laid the fates of both countries at the feet of Mary in the hopes that peace would finally reign.
Dozens of people experiencing poverty and homelessness around the world got to ask Pope Francis any question they wanted.