Lent is a time to free oneself from slavery and take action to free others suffering from the multiple forms of slavery that afflict the world, Pope Francis said.

People who are terminally ill and their families should always receive the care and assistance they need, Pope Francis said.

Wrath is a “dark vice” that destroys relationships, focuses all blame on others and only worsens over time, Pope Francis said.

Keeping the Catholic faith and caring for the poor, sick and afflicted are inseparable, Pope Francis said.

A television or radio network that calls itself Catholic must help people overcome their prejudices, seek the truth with charity and build bridges between people, Pope Francis said.

Today’s wars and conflicts have put humanity on the brink of the abyss, Pope Francis said, calling for a worldwide cease-fire.

Making a list of which sinners are welcome in the church and which sinners are not goes against the teaching of the Gospel, Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper.

Addictions, fear, impossible perfectionism, consumerism and the inability to choose and love life are just some of the traps the devil uses to take away people’s freedom, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis has expressed his closeness to the small Catholic community in Turkey after gunmen attacked a church during Sunday morning Mass Jan. 28, leaving at least one worshipper dead.

Pope Francis again insisted that an informal blessing of a gay or other unmarried couple is not a blessing of their union but a sign of the Catholic Church’s closeness to them and its hope that they will grow in faith.