Carol Glatz

At Mass before the conclave that will elect the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals urged his brothers to choose the shepherd the church and all of humanity need "at this difficult and complex and tormented" turning point in history.

The over-80 cardinals can be part of the preconclave meetings called general congregations. Those are daily meetings in which the College of Cardinals has been preparing for the conclave, discussing the needs of the church and handling business that must be attended to between popes.

The cardinals were invited to visit the pope's tomb and pray vespers, which was presided over by Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the basilica.

With the death of Pope Francis, the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was scheduled for April 27, has been postponed.

The Gospel contains a great message of hope, "because it tells us that wherever we are lost and however we are lost, God always comes looking for us!" said the text for Pope Francis' weekly general audience.

Using forced deportations and detainment to deal with migration is "a scandal," said Jesuit Fr. Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits. The 76-year-old Venezuelan superior general held a news conference in Rome to discuss the state of the world, the church and the Jesuits and to take questions from reporters.

As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said.

"Seeds of Peace and Hope" is the theme for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1.

When the pope formally proclaimed the Holy Year dedicated to hope, he had said that "the need for peace challenges us all, and demands that concrete steps be taken." One concrete step is the gift of the four ambulances, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity said, becoming "a sign of Jubilee hope anchored in Christ."

The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.

The Catholic Church needs to expand its safeguarding efforts to include the new threats and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, top organizers of a Vatican conference said.

Change can be frightening, but the Holy Spirit encourages the faithful to face their fears, follow Jesus' light and be "born again," Pope Francis said in a prepared text.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, presented a paper offering "some clarifications" regarding the meaning of the April 2024 document "Dignitas Infinita" during a conference organized by Germany's Cologne University of Catholic Theology. 

At the start of the Lenten season, the pope greeted Catholics in Brazil and praised the country's bishops for their continued support of the annual Fraternity Campaign, which is dedicated this year to "Fraternity and Integral Ecology."

Pope Francis' extended hospitalization and care is a reminder that every human being, especially the frail or elderly, must be given proper care, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts strongly cautioned against publishing "news" that would harm the reputation of an individual, especially someone who is deceased, when it comes to priests accused of abuse and not found guilty in civil or canonical procedures.

Despite his illness, age and hospitalization, Pope Francis is still demonstrating his deep faith and exercising his role as pontiff, said a cardinal who once served as an auxiliary bishop of Rome.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, led a recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis on the 11th day of his hospitalization for double pneumonia. About 27 cardinals living in Rome and dozens of members of the Roman Curia joined the prayers.

One out of four people living in Lebanon is a refugee, and the majority of children born in refugee camps are unregistered at birth, said Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Czerny added that it is important to offer a "gesture of thanks and support to the Lebanese people who proportionately bear the greatest burden of any country in the world."