Pope Francis praised Catholic lay movements and associations for living out the Gospel in their everyday lives and for promoting education, social support and evangelization in the world’s peripheries.

Pope Francis has not devalued the Torah and does not question the fact that the Torah is crucial for modern Judaism, Cardinal Kurt Koch told two prominent Jewish leaders.

The debate about denying Communion to politicians who support abortion must be handled in a pastoral way, not by public condemnations that seek to “excommunicate” Catholics who are not in line with church teaching, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis made sure that while the world often disregards the young and the marginalized, in the Catholic Church, “no one ought ever to feel out of place or set aside.”

The Swiss Guard’s main duties are providing security services, protecting the pope and his residence and offering honor guard duty at the main entrances to Vatican City State, at public audiences, Masses and diplomatic receptions.

Religious leaders must courageously cooperate in supporting each other in opposing hatred and promoting peace, Pope Francis said.

The violence of the Holocaust and the atrocities committed against the Jewish people are tantamount to blasphemy, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis praised his predecessor’s courage in denouncing the danger of people no longer respecting or understanding the sacredness of human life.

Slovakia’s tradition of hospitality along with its witness of faith amid persecution must be at the forefront of government policies and the Catholic Church’s engagement with the faithful, Pope Francis said.

“Let us not be concerned only with the things that can benefit our individual communities,” the pope said. “The freedom of our brothers and sisters is also our freedom, since our freedom is not complete without theirs.”