Arriving in a wheelchair instead of walking with his cane, Pope Francis began his weekly general audience by telling visitors and pilgrims, “I’m still a bit sick,” so an aide would read his prepared text.

Christians who never renounce their love for Christ and are faithful to the point of death are a blessing for everyone, Pope Francis said.

After participating in a seminar on the Catholic Church and the Freemasons, an Italian bishop reaffirmed that Catholics who belong to Masonic lodges are in a “serious state of sin” and cannot receive Communion.

As the wave of violence torments gang-decimated Haiti, six male religious, a lay teacher and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents Feb. 23 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.

This Lent, Christians should become “seekers of light” by keeping their sights set on the light of Jesus through prayer and participating in the sacraments, Pope Francis said.

When the Alabama Supreme Court recently recognized the personhood of embryos, it gave legal standing to something the church has clearly established: An embryo is a human being and should be treated with the dignity and rights due to all people, especially the most vulnerable who cannot speak for themselves.

“Love Means More,” a new teaching initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has a statement of purpose, a website and a promise to keep building the website to provide answers on a wide variety of questions about Catholic teaching on love, sexuality and marriage.

The ability of Catholic and other faith-based groups to “meet migrants’ basic human needs” at the U.S.-Mexico border is a religious liberty issue and must be defended, U.S. bishops said in recent statements.

Saying Pope Francis was continuing to experience “mild flu-like symptoms,” the Vatican announced he had canceled his appointments again Feb. 26.

Sociologist Tricia C. Bruce has dedicated her career to trying to understand American Catholics’ attitudes and behavior. She will draw on that experience in her new role as a consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod, which she expects to include listening to diverse voices and considering broad questions, she said.