Sts. Peter and Paul were great not just because of their zeal for the Gospel, but because they allowed Christ to enter their hearts and change their lives, Pope Francis said.

“Thank you, Benedict, dear father and brother,” the pope said. “Thank you for your credible witness. Thank you for your continuous gaze toward the horizon of God. Thank you.”

Even as the formal Catholic-Orthodox dialogue continues to deal with divisive theological issues, members of both churches should work together more closely on issues where they share a common point of view, Pope Francis said.

Even as the formal Catholic-Orthodox dialogue continues to deal with divisive theological issues, members of both churches should work together more closely on issues where they share a common point of view, Pope Francis said.

Try a little tenderness. That’s basically how Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 73, summarized Pope Francis’ vision for what older people, their grandchildren and friends should do to change the world after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ are humble and trust in God, they do not heap conditions upon others or promote themselves as the only “keepers of the truth,” Pope Francis said.

The Vatican has informed Italy that a draft law to fight homophobia and discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity could violate the freedom of Catholics to teach and practice their faith.

“Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes,” St. John Paul II said.

Pope Francis has named U.S. Cardinals Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and James M. Harvey, archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, to be members of the Vatican’s supreme court.

Poverty is the result of people’s selfishness; it is not “fate” or the fault of the poor, Pope Francis said.