Pompeo: “More than 80 percent of mankind lives in places where religious freedom is threatened or entirely denied and it’s no coincidence that it has happened as unfree societies have proliferated.”

“It is the voice of the local church, the voice of the church in the Amazon—of the church, of the people, of the history and of the very earth, the voice of the earth.... And this has value, it is not fake news,” Cardinal Hummes said.

“Our vocation is to help men and women to live their human lives and to live them to the full,” said Father Czerny. “This is the big mission. This is what it means to preach the Gospel and to bring the Good News to the ends of the earth.”

It was the pair’s first extended conversation, though Pope Francis is familiar with Father Martin’s work.

The Vatican said the reason for the apostolic visitation in 2017 was due to “shortcomings concerning the style of government, the life of the members of the council, the pastoral care of vocations, the formation of new vocations, administration, the management of works and fundraising.”

Lithuania's cardinal-designate Sigitas Tamkevicius, a Jesuit and a veteran of Soviet prisons and labor camps, will receive the red hat from Pope Francis Oct. 5 at the Vatican.