Catholic News Service

"It is very sad to see the church as if it were a parliament," which is what happens when Catholics rely more on their personal opinions than on the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said.

Members of Ukraine's parliament asked for Pope Francis' support in returning the thousands of Ukrainian children believed to be being held in Russian custody.

With a degree of credibility that "seems to be very high," another 14 women and one man have reported to the Jesuits that they were spiritually, psychologically or sexually abused by Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik, a well-known mosaic artist and spiritual director.

If the purpose of the Catholic Church's canon law really is to promote people's salvation, as the law itself asserts, then its application must be primarily pastoral and aimed at promoting evangelization, Pope Francis said.

Laypeople are not "guests" in the Catholic Church and priests are not the "bosses," Pope Francis said; rather all the baptized belong and share responsibility for its life and mission.

Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking out new paths to take with Jesus and for avoiding the traps of stagnation or impromptu experimentation, Pope Francis said.

As the continental assemblies for the Synod of Bishops make clear that hot-button issues — like sexuality, climate change and the role of women in the church — are not going away, the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life is pointing at a more fundamental issue at stake in learning to be a "synodal church": What responsibility comes from baptism and unites all Catholics?

"I am close to you, and I pray for you," Pope Francis told the Turkish people reeling from earthquakes that killed nearly 42,000 people in Turkey and neighboring Syria, according to figures updated Feb. 16.

Pope Francis told Jesuits working in Congo that he had taken seriously the promise he and all Jesuits make to not seek offices of authority and power in the church and, in fact, he twice declined becoming a bishop.

Pope Francis sent 10,000 thermal shirts to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, where millions are sleeping outdoors in below-freezing temperatures.

Christians are not called to "argue, counterattack and defend themselves" when evangelizing but to be meek and humble, Pope Francis said.

Just days after Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Pope Francis expressed concern over his condition.

Indigenous people have a "fundamental role" in protecting the planet from "unprecedented" social and environmental threats, Pope Francis said during a meeting with participants from the Forum of Indigenous Peoples at the Vatican Feb. 10.

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the papal vicar for Vatican City State, has appointed Scalabrinian Fr. Luigi Sabbarese, a 60-year-old canon lawyer, to coordinate and verify the city state's safeguarding efforts.

Young people must be "missionaries of human dignity" to fight human trafficking and all forms of exploitation, Pope Francis said.

On the feast of Sudan-born St. Josephine Bakhita, Pope Francis prayed for "a future of justice and peace for our brothers and sisters in Africa."

Pope Francis urged all people to be in solidarity with the regions of Turkey and Syria struck by two powerful earthquakes early Feb. 6 and that are "in part already martyred by a long war."

Pope Francis expressed his "spiritual closeness" and "solidarity" with those affected by a pair of powerful earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria Feb. 6.

Ongoing flooding in South Sudan is causing people to move into regions traditionally populated by members of other ethnic groups. That leads to competition for land and resources that fuels ethnic tensions.

More than three-quarters of a century after the largest genocide in history, the United States and the Catholic Church are still making sense of their response to the Holocaust.