In a speech at his weekly general audience, Pope Francis highlighted justice in his cycle of catechesis on virtues. Justice, the pope said, is animated by the righteous person who “desires the good of society as a whole.”

“It is not easy to be a Catholic, and it is not easy to be a writer. To be a Catholic writer is doubly difficult,” wrote Jacques Maritain, who nevertheless became one of the most influential 20th-century Catholic writers on either side of the Atlantic.

It appears Pope Francis did not want the story of his relationship with Benedict XVI to be told by others, least of all by Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

Pope Francis: “Let us respect women. Let us respect their dignity, their basic rights. And if we don’t, our society will not progress.”

The Vatican press office announced that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith’s declaration on human dignity, said to include a faith-based critique of “gender ideologies” and surrogacy, will be released April 8.

The meetings of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinal Advisors generally do not garner much attention, but since last year’s synod, they have made headlines thanks to a series of presentations organized by Sister Linda Pocher, F.M.A.

We don’t know the names of all of the men so far, but the Guatemalan, Honduran and Mexican consulates have acknowledged that citizens of their nations working together in the United States are among the missing and the presumed dead.

The pope called for specific, concrete, immediate steps that political leaders could take to end the wars and bring peace to the Holy Land and to Ukraine.

"Let us lift our eyes to him and ask that the power of his resurrection may roll away the heavy stones that weigh down our souls," the pope said in his homily on March 30.

Those chosen to lead the Way of the Cross included minors living in foster homes, people with disabilities, migrants, catechists, priests and cloistered nuns.