Carol Glatz

The injury and death of so many innocent people, especially children, caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is "terrible and unacceptable," putting the area at risk of sinking into "a spiral of death and destruction," Pope Francis said.

If families are not the priority of the present, there will be no future, Pope Francis said as he opened a meeting in Rome on Italy's chronic decline in population growth.

As India faces a massive surge in new infections and deaths caused by COVID-19, Pope Francis said he was praying for all those affected by the huge health emergency.

Contemplative prayer transforms and purifies the human heart, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis is scheduled to open a meeting discussing the challenges posed by Italy's low birthrate. "For more than a decade, Italy has become an increasingly elderly and less populated country, suffering from structural and legislative shortcomings at the fiscal, economic and social level," which have all exacerbated a drop in births, according to a press release about the meeting.

Shortly after midnight on April 2, unidentified gunmen broke into the home of Christian Carlassare, the bishop-designate of Rumbek, South Sudan, shot him in both legs and fled, according to church news reports.

Because prayer is a dialogue with God, people should not dismiss or be embarrassed by saying their prayers out loud or in a whisper, Pope Francis said.

Greeting visitors in St. Peter's Square after nearly a month of tight restrictions due to the pandemic, Pope Francis said he was happy to see people allowed to gather and be present for Sunday noonday prayer.

Without prayer, everything crumbles and any initiatives for church reform will just be proposals by some group and not the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said.

Fr. John P. Beal, professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., said in his talk that past abuse scandals in the U.S. showed "how lack of transparency in church governance allowed these lapses in accountability to go unrecognized and unaddressed for decades."

"This new case is a reflection of the collapse of the security apparatus of the state and the country. No one seems to be safe anymore," Redemptorist Fr. Renold Antoine told Fides on April 12.

The podcasts are available on several platforms and they feature one of the pope's own Jesuit astronomers speaking with a notable figure in the world of space exploration or science.

Pope Francis hopes that by bringing together people from "various fields in order to share research, clinical and pastoral experiences and best practices, the symposium will contribute to a greater awareness of the gravity and the extent of child sexual abuse and promote more effective cooperation at every level of society in eradicating this profound evil."

Knowing that Rome would be under lockdown during Holy Week and Easter, Fr. Luigi D'Errico asked youngsters in his parish to draw illustrations and write a series of reflections. They were among those chosen for the Vatican's Way of the Cross meditations.

A Christian life should be filled with amazement — astonishment at the son of God suffering and dying for humanity and awe at realizing how precious and loved people are in his eyes, Pope Francis said.

The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world has shown steady growth, while the number of religious men and women continued to decrease, according to Vatican statistics.

Everyone is responsible for caring for the oceans, which are fundamental to supporting life on the planet, said speakers at a conference organized by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

With the need to reduce costs, Pope Francis has approved pay cuts for cardinals, clergy, religious and upper management officials who work in the Roman Curia and other Vatican entities.

Mary, the mother of God, has been present during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was by the side of all those who died alone, Pope Francis said.

As security forces in Myanmar have increased their crackdown on civilians, with disappearances, detentions and the killing of peaceful protesters, Pope Francis appealed for an end to violence and the start of dialogue.