Donations to the annual Peter’s Pence collection, which supports the work of the Roman Curia and funds the charitable activity of the pope, went up in 2023, with increased donations from dioceses, foundations, private donors and religious orders, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis prayed in thanksgiving for the release of two Ukrainian Catholic priests who were held in Russian captivity for more than 19 months, calling on Christians to pray for the release of all prisoners of war.

Heaven is not a secure vault protected from outsiders but a “hidden treasure” that is reached by cultivating virtues, Pope Francis said.

Reflecting on the Apostle Peter’s liberation from prison after an angel opened his cell, the pope said God “is the one who sets us free and opens the way before us” in his homily during Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

Despite tensions with Pope Francis which have sometimes boiled over into public view, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict XVI’s longtime secretary, will become the pope’s representative to the Baltic states.

Pope Francis said that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati “will be a saint soon.”

On the final day of the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication addressed questions posed by journalists about the dicastery’s regular practice of posting art by Father Marko Rupnik — a Rome-based priest accused of sexually abusing multiple women — on the Vatican News website and social media, especially to illustrate church feast days.

Faith and science can go hand in hand as long as science is put at the service of humanity and not used to hurt or extinguish human life, Pope Francis said.

Mental health, discrimination against minorities, including LGBTQ+ people, and a desire to be included more in church life were some of the concerns young college students shared with Pope Francis on a Zoom conference call.

There are no compromises when it comes to human life, Pope Francis said.