Vatican News

Pope Francis prayed that God would raise up a new generation of "well-educated and faithful Catholics leaders committed to promoting the church's social and ethical teachings" through public service, especially in politics.

Pope Francis blasted what he described as groups of "very strong, reactionary" American Catholics, warning against becoming "backwardists" who oppose change in the Catholic Church. 

Acknowledging Ukraine's celebration of Independence Day Aug. 24, Pope Francis pleaded with thousands of visitors at his weekly general audience to keep praying for peace in the country.

Our Lady of Guadalupe and other recognized Marian apparitions show clearly how evangelization does not require complicated plans and elaborate theological explanations but sharing the faith in "a language suitable for all, a language that is comprehensible, like that of Jesus," Pope Francis said.

The top-ranking U.S. military officer told reporters he and Pope Francis discussed the war in Ukraine, especially the war's impact on the people there.

Since the Mafia feeds on poverty and isolation, the response of the Catholic Church must be to build a community where everyone knows they are welcome, loved, cared for and called to conversion, Pope Francis told priests in Sicily.

Dorothy Day was "a great witness to faith, hope and charity in the 20th century," Pope Francis wrote in the foreword to a new edition of Day's 1938 memoir on her conversion, From Union Square to Rome.

Christians must stand firm in their faith but that is not the same as being rigid and unwilling to bend out of compassion for another, Pope Francis said.