Catholics should not be afraid to bear their sins before God whose mercy is a model for the church’s ministers, Pope Francis said.

A Christian’s awareness of being sinful should be directly proportional to their “perception of the infinite love of God,” Pope Francis said.

When it comes to inspiring people’s actions, Jesus knew that being an example to others is more important than “a flood of words,” Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church and the world itself need the gifts and contributions of women, especially in bringing people together and overcoming tensions and violence, Pope Francis wrote.

The Catholic Church should not be discouraged by the challenge of confronting sex abuse, Pope Francis said, rather it must take concrete steps in developing policies to preserve the dignity of its members.

International Women’s Day has long been an occasion for women and men connected to the Vatican to gather to discuss the role of women in the church and society.

Since 2016, Gisella Cardia has claimed to be seeing visions of the Virgin Mary in the central Italian town of Trevignano Romano, some 30 miles north of Rome, after bringing a statue of Mary with her from a trip to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, which she said began to shed tears.

Pope Francis urged prideful people to recall one of Jesus’ moral commandments to “never judge.”

Crying out to God and demanding answers when one’s child dies is anything but a sign of a lack of faith, Pope Francis told a group of grieving Italian parents.

Pope Francis repeated his call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and said the international community has a “moral duty” to pursue disarmament worldwide.