The requirement that most priests in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church be celibate has theological and spiritual foundations and not only practical motivations, said speakers at an international conference on priesthood.

Meeting leaders of the Eastern Catholic churches — many from countries at war, facing the threat of war or dealing with the destruction left by war — Pope Francis said human beings seem to be “attached to wars, and this is tragic.”

During a lecture Feb. 15 in Rome, Francesco Buranelli, president of the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of the Holy See and former director of the Vatican Museums, presented a picture of what can happen when fierce family rivalries, a Counter-Reformation “cancel culture” and 500 years of “fake news” find the perfect target in a problematic pope.

As part of ongoing measures to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has approved restructuring the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest of the congregations.

Pope Francis was among those showing their support for retired Pope Benedict XVI, sending his predecessor “a beautiful letter,” according to the former pope’s secretary.

The head of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said retired Pope Benedict’s “witness and profound honesty should galvanize all of us to defend survivors of abuse and to protect all those entrusted to our care.”

The Vatican’s English translation of the letter retired Pope Benedict XVI published Feb. 8 in response to the independent report on the handling of sexual abuse allegations in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising from 1945 to 2019.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI has never attempted to hide what is true, no matter how painful recognizing reality might be, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi.

At the age of 94, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God’s judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse.

Pope Francis encouraged decisive action against human trafficking and female genital mutilation.