Religious rules are good and necessary, but Jesus wants his disciples to go beyond the letter of the law and fully live out its meaning, Pope Francis said.

The smiles, curiosity and boldness of several children with rare diseases who did not know about protocol at papal audiences and simply went up to Pope Francis and reached out for rosaries gave the grownups present a lesson, the pope said.

Just days after Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Pope Francis expressed concern over his condition.

The training, discipline and motivation needed even by amateur athletes are also tools for spiritual growth, Pope Francis said.

The Feb. 12 Super Bowl, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m., “sadly serves as a danger zone for sex trafficking, labor trafficking and domestic violence,” said the executive director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, based in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring.

The Chiefs will battle the Philadelphia Eagles Feb. 12 with kick off at 6:30 p.m. at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. the team’s third appearance in four seasons at the Big Game, which they won in 2019 after routing the San Francisco 49ers.

A Catholic high school in Philadelphia is taking action after several of its students posted a racially charged social media video that has sparked community protests.

Nicaragua has released more than 200 political prisoners, including Catholic priests, students, and opponents of the regime, who were taken from detention in deplorable conditions and sent to the United States.

Whether the sisters hail from Colorado, Montana, Wyoming or the Midwest, their loyalties tend to run Chiefs’ red — especially leading up to Super Bowl Sunday.

Caring for the sick and suffering includes drawing attention to those who suffer in silence, struggling to find someone who will acknowledge they are in pain and try to help, Pope Francis said.