Pope Francis’ July trip to Canada was born out of his meetings with the nations’ Indigenous people and was planned around encounters with them, and if the pope’s words “have value elsewhere,” like throughout the Americas, all the better, said the director of the Vatican press office.

Pope Francis interrupted his traditional July break to meet with Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife, Princess Charlene, at the Vatican.

The Vatican released a new policy consolidating the investment portfolios of all offices and keeping all current and future investments in line with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

For Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Pope Francis’ consistent reminder of “the barbarism of war” is needed because “four months of war has made a lot of people around the world accustomed to this situation.”

The Gospel story of the sisters Mary and Martha, one sitting at Jesus’ feet and the other making sure their guest was served, is a lesson to Christians that every good deed done for others should flow from listening to God’s word, Pope Francis said.

Asking for prayers ahead of his visit to Canada July 24-29, Pope Francis described the trip as a “penitential pilgrimage” as part of a commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country’s Indigenous people.

The Jesuits at the Vatican Observatory were wowed like most people by the beauty of the photos from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, but the director said they also are excited by the scientific information the telescope will reveal.

Religious orders must never tolerate the abuse of children or vulnerable persons, and they must end the practice of moving alleged abusers to other countries, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis said all the speeches he has prepared for his trip to Canada “begin and end” with asking forgiveness.

The care of the environment and the fight against climate change is not a lofty goal for humanity but a moral imperative, Pope Francis said.