Pope Francis called insinuations that St. John Paul II played a role in the 1983 disappearance of Vatican schoolgirl Emanuela Orlandi “offensive and unfounded.”

Pope Francis has chosen “His mercy is from age to age,” a passage from the Gospel of Luke, as the theme for the 2023 celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

St. John Paul II’s longtime aide denied the “vile insinuations” that the former pope was maliciously involved in the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican schoolgirl whose 1983 disappearance is the focus of an ongoing Vatican investigation.

Despite declining numbers and sometimes a lack of appreciation from clergy, women religious are called to be courageous like the women disciples who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb and rushed off to share the news of his resurrection, Pope Francis said.

The pope met at the Vatican April 13 with members of the Religious Association of Social and Health Institutes, which represents more than 250 hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other health care centers operated by religious institutes throughout Italy.

In their discussions about the life of the church and “synodality,” or walking together, Catholics in United States and Canada noted the negative impact “polarization” is having on the church, said Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas.

Just as Catholics worldwide commemorated Jesus’ resurrection and his triumph of good over evil on Easter Sunday, theaters across the United States were preparing for the release April 14 of the latest “supernatural horror thriller” of good versus evil with “The Pope’s Exorcist.”

Sharing the Gospel requires literally “going out,” witnessing to the joy of faith in person and not just sitting at home, being “keyboard warriors” who argue with others online, Pope Francis said.

The Vatican’s chief prosecutor said Pope Francis has given him free rein to investigate the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican resident.

The women disciples, who were the first to meet the risen Jesus, offer a lesson to all Christians: “We encounter Jesus by giving witness to him,” Pope Francis said.