Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service

“I extend my greetings and wish you success at the Olympic Games in Rio—that your courage and strength find expression through the Olympic Games and serve as a cry for peace and solidarity.”

The basic questions are: Who is in need of God’s mercy and how does that mercy reach people, he said. The answer is that all people “are called to beg for mercy, to desire conversion.”

Pope Francis challenges Christian organizations meeting in Munich “to welcome and show solidarity toward those who are weak and disadvantaged, to build bridges and overcome conflicts whether they are open or latent.”

“I want a church that is open, understanding, that accompanies families who are hurting,” Pope Francis said.

During his trip to Poland for World Youth Day, Pope Francis will go to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. He said he wants to go alone and say nothing.

The superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said Pope Francis, rather than denouncing errors in Catholic doctrine, has "encouraged" them."The Society of St. Pius X prays and does penance for the pope, that he might have the strength to proclaim Catholic faith and

The site—www.laudatosi.va—”witnesses not only to the impact of the encyclical, but also the creativity and generosity of the people of God everywhere in the world.”

“A large majority of sacramental marriages are null. They say ‘yes, for my whole life,’ but they do not know what they are saying.”

Church leaders who decide not to attend, he said, bear responsibility for reneging on their commitment to realizing “this vision held over many years, which all our churches cherish, to declare and proclaim the unity of our Orthodox Church.”