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.

A Reflection for Wednesday in the Octave of Easter, by Rachel Lu

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.

“Just cause” eviction laws can add a measure of security and predictability to housing markets. They can also correct the power imbalance between large landlords and tenants.

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.

A meditation for Easter

“The idea of a preacher who sings as a part of their homily is part of many African American cultural traditions,” explains Kim Harris. “The songs carry so many of our stories, hopes, and beliefs, and what we’re thinking about and believing and preaching about.”

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.