Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Vatican, China renew agreement on appointing bishops
Saying it is committed to "respectful dialogue" with China's communist government and to "fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people," the Vatican announced it has renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of bishops.
The Second Vatican Council was the universal Catholic Church's response to God's love and to Jesus' command to feed his sheep, Pope Francis said, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the council's opening.
Thank God for opportunity to study, Pope Francis tells students
Being able to go to school and study is a gift that not every young person in the world has and is something to thank God for, Pope Francis told a group of Swiss students.
In the face of sin and failure, the temptation to wallow in despair and do nothing comes from the devil, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis' words in Canada may have broader reach
Pope Francis' July trip to Canada was born out of his meetings with the nations' Indigenous people and was planned around encounters with them, and if the pope's words "have value elsewhere," like throughout the Americas, all the better, said the director of the Vatican press office.
Asking for prayers ahead of his visit to Canada July 24-29, Pope Francis described the trip as a "penitential pilgrimage" as part of a commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country's Indigenous people.
When Pope Francis travels to Canada to apologize to Indigenous communities for the way the Catholic Church joined efforts to uproot them from their traditional culture and spirituality, their traditions will be on full display.
Ten days after saying he would name two women to the group that helps him choose bishops, Pope Francis appointed three women to the office.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Reuters news agency, Pope Francis condemned abortion, dismissed the idea that he's preparing to resign and said he still hopes to be able to visit Russia and Ukraine in the fall.
For many people in Rome, Pope Francis' decision to schedule a consistory to create new cardinals in August was more surprising than the men he chose to receive the red hat.