Pope Francis tackled several issues in his new encyclical, but the section devoted to ending capital punishment was particularly cheered by U.S. Catholics who oppose the death penalty.

People who think politics is sinking to new lows may find comfort in knowing Pope Francis also is concerned about the debasement of what church teaching has described as a “lofty vocation.”

Professing faith in God as the creator of all human beings, or even simply recognizing that all people possess an inherent dignity, has concrete consequences for how people should treat one another and make decisions in politics, economics and social life, Pope Francis wrote.

Meeting new recruits to the Swiss Guard, Pope Francis assured them that God always stands by their side, offering them comfort and consolation.

The tomb of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager who used his computer programming skills to spread devotion to the Eucharist, was opened for veneration before his beatification in Assisi.

After two weeks of communicating through the media, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke face-to-face about China, the topic of a major difference of opinion.

In an apostolic letter dedicated to Sacred Scripture, Pope Francis said that even today, Christians can learn new things from the countless translations of the Bible that exist.

Conspiracy theories and dark intrigue about Pope John Paul I’s untimely death just one month after his election should be set aside and his life and legacy made more widely known, said his niece.

Pope Francis asked members of the United Nations how they think they can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and build a more peaceful, more just world when many of their countries spend billions on military weapons and when their treatment of the unborn, of refugees and of women shows so little respect for human life.

In a move apparently related to Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes and his renunciation of the rights associated with being a cardinal, the Vatican announced late Sept. 24.