Junno Arocho Esteves

Continuing its efforts to combat money laundering and financial mismanagement, the Vatican amended its transparency laws and expanded the role of its financial watchdog agency in monitoring financial transactions.

The latest financial transparency measures enacted at the Vatican are meant to restore order, ensuring money serves its purpose and does not become an object of idolatry, Pope Francis told European finance experts.

An eventual vaccine for COVID-19 would belong to the world and should not be hoarded greedily by countries hosting the lab or labs that develop it, Pope Francis said.

Those in positions of authority, especially in the Catholic Church, would do well to remember that their responsibility is to serve those in their care and not exploit them for their own selfish interests, Pope Francis said.

In a new apostolic letter, Scripturae Sacrae Affectus, Pope Francis said that even today, Christians can learn new things from the countless translations of the Bible that exist.

In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the world must aspire to be better and not return to its previous "sickened" normality of injustice, inequality and environmental degradation, Pope Francis said.

Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square during his Angelus address Sept. 20, the pope said that just as God "calls everyone and calls always," the church must also "offer everyone the word of salvation that Jesus came to bring."

Euthanasia legislation is headed for the Spanish Senate and, if passed, it would be a defeat for human dignity and would affirm a self-centered view of life that proposes death as a solution to one's problems, the Spanish bishops' conference said.

Human beings must change their relationship with nature and view it not as an "object for unscrupulous use and abuse" but as a gift they are charged by God to care for and protect, Pope Francis said.

Contemplation and compassion are the necessary components of an integral ecology that ensures both the care of the environment and the common good, Pope Francis said.

European countries can turn the migration crisis into a "window" of opportunity, dialogue and encounter between migrants and their citizens, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education called for an alliance between Catholic and non-Catholic educational institutions in order to confront the challenges stemming from or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The common good — and not political or economic gain — should be at the heart of the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, Pope Francis said.

In a new book featuring his conversations with Pope Francis, Italian environmental activist Carlo Petrini said he hopes the published discussions will contribute to the groundwork laid out by Laudato Si'.

As many people around the world face economic uncertainty due to the pandemic, a paradigm shift is needed that places the good of the many over the benefit of the few, Pope Francis said.

The coronavirus pandemic not only has added to the many sufferings of the people of Puerto Rico but also has exposed decades of inequality that is deeply embedded in the island territory's political machine, said Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan.

The exploitation and plundering of the Earth's resources at the expense of the poor and vulnerable cry out for justice and the forgiveness of debts, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis encouraged global initiatives for the protection of the environment, especially in Mauritius after a devastating oil spill threatened the livelihood of the island nation's inhabitants and wildlife.

As governments and world leaders struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, they must also work harder to protect victims of human trafficking, said the Vatican-based international network of Catholic charities.

Thousands of saints have been canonized after thorough investigations into their lives, while the causes of many other candidates have been suspended or closed when there is insufficient evidence of sanctity, or the lack of miracle. But there are also causes that have been closed or delayed due to proverbial "skeletons in the closet."