Carol Glatz

Pope Francis' message, focused on the theme, "Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay," was released at the Vatican May 11.

Punishing and condemning those guilty of clergy sexual abuse is an act of charity, Pope Francis said. "The abuser is an enemy. Each of us feels this because we empathize with the suffering of the abused," he said during a private meeting with 32 Jesuits April 29 during his three-day trip to Budapest, Hungary. Those guilty of abuse "deserve punishment, but they also deserve pastoral care."

The Vatican office in charge of coordinating plans for the Holy Year 2025 announced they are launching a new website and releasing an app to help people register and to guide them along their pilgrimage in Rome.

The new projects and developments at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors represent "a major shift toward a more impact-focused direction," said its president, Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston.

Safeguarding minors and vulnerable persons must be a priority for everyone in the church, Pope Francis said during an audience May 5 with staff and members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors at the Vatican.

Interreligious dialogue requires sincerity and mutual respect to be fruitful, Pope Francis told Christian and Muslim leaders.

World Youth Day is an antidote against indifference, isolation and lethargy, Pope Francis said.

The life and ministry of the Catholic Church is enriched by listening to everyone, especially those who are often excluded by society, and by including their experiences and perspectives, Pope Francis said.

The heads of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and a section of the Dicastery for Evangelization have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at improving assistance to victims of abuse, bishops and local churches both in mission countries and emerging communities.

Pope Francis has appealed for an end to violence in Sudan and a return to dialogue.

The world needs new economic models that respect human dignity and protect creation, Pope Francis told an interfaith delegation from England on April 20 at the Vatican.

The Pontifical International Marian Academy has created a commission to study and monitor cases of alleged Marian apparitions and other mystical phenomena.

Instead of presiding over the nighttime Way of the Cross seated atop a hillside overlooking Rome's Colosseum, Pope Francis followed the service from his Vatican residence, spiritually united in prayer with the 20,000 people gathered outside the ancient amphitheater April 7.

On Good Friday, the pope's preacher said that without God, humanity is nothing.

Jesus never abandons anyone; he has come to save, serve and accompany everyone, Pope Francis told young inmates.

The Focolare movement has published its first report on cases of abuse received between 2014 and 2022, as well as its updated and planned measures to better and more quickly handle accusations, promote a "safeguarding culture" and offer reparation to victims.

Pope Francis used his third day at Rome's Gemelli hospital to visit children hospitalized in the oncology ward and to confer the sacrament of baptism on a tiny infant named Miguel Angel.

Pope Francis called the deadly shooting at a school in Nashville a "senseless act of violence" and prayed that the grieving families hold strong to their faith and "bring good out of unspeakable evil."

Jesus can offer everyone hope and new life, Pope Francis said.

To evangelize well, the faithful need to dialogue with God, let the Holy Spirit renew their hearts and lives, and then dialogue with today's world, Pope Francis said.