Pope Francis has promoted Vatican nurse Massimiliano Strappetti, whom he credited with saving his life last year, to be his “personal health care assistant.”

A Reading for Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kerry Weber

Gerry Desnomie, 74, suffered verbal, emotional and sexual abuse in a church-run residential school. He welcomed the pope’s apology in Canada—but says three points were missing.

“It was therefore a penitential pilgrimage,” Pope Francis said at today’s general audience. “There were many joyful moments, but the overall meaning and tone was reflection, repentance and reconciliation.”

“We are at a different place than we were a week ago in the church’s walk with Indigenous Peoples, a better place.”

Pope Francis will travel next month to Kazakhstan, where he could meet with Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has supported Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

An exclusive interview with Mandy Gull-Masty, the grand chief of the Cree Nation and the first woman to hold that post, about Pope Francis' visit to Canada and the future of the reconciliation process.

The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Kazakhstan in September and attend an interreligious meeting in the capital city, Nur-Sultan.

“The general disposition of the church is one of hospitality, openness and welcome,” writes Archbishop John Wester. “Refusing to baptize children of same-sex couples is not in keeping with this outreach and I find it quite troubling.”

“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” Pope Francis said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.