Gerard O’Connell

ldquo Dear Brothers and Sisters I could not leave Bolivia without seeing you rdquo Pope Francis told thousands of inmates and their families in a prison 15 km outside Santa Cruz on July 10 before leaving Bolivia and flying to Paraguay The prison of Santa Cruz-Palmasola ndash known as an ldqu

In a talk of the utmost importance that is likely to spark discussion and inspire action worldwide Pope Francis made his strongest call yet for ldquo structural change rdquo in the way the world rsquo s economy is run saying the present system ldquo runs counter to the plan of Jesus rdquo nb

Immediately after arriving at La Paz the capital of Bolivia on July 8 Pope Francis spoke of the great challenges facing this country today and declared that ldquo Bolivia is at a historic crossroads rdquo and ldquo Now is the time for Integration rdquo Though he spent less than four hours in

In Quito on the last day of his visit to Ecuador Pope Francis made a passionate appeal for social justice and called on Catholics ldquo to be builders of unity rdquo and ldquo to work for inclusivity at every level to avoid forms of selfishness to build communication and dialogue and to encou

GUAYAQUIL A million people from Ecuador and neighboring countries interrupted Pope Francis several times with enthusiastic applause as he delivered an inspiring and encouraging homily on the family and assured them that thanks to Jesus ldquo the best wine is yet to come rdquo He offered this enc

QUITO ldquo I thank God for having allowed me to return to Latin America and to be here with you today in this beautiful land of Ecuador rdquo With these words a visibly happy Pope greeted the Ecuadorian people and then went onto appeal for dialogue and nbsp reconciliation in the land soon aft

Pope Francis returns with joy to Latin America this Sunday July 5 and is expected to be given a rapturous welcome by millions of people during his seven-day visit to Ecuador Bolivia and Paraguay On the eve of his departure he went to the Basilica of St Mary Major rsquo s in Rome to pray before t

An interview with Chicago’s new archbishop

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis lived through a similar economic and social crisis.