A maskless Pope Francis met guests at a crowded indoor papal audience last week, kissing the hands of newly ordained priests and embracing people who pulled their masks down or did not wear masks at all, flouting the Vatican’s coronavirus protocols.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell discuss the Vatican’s existing protocols and why Pope Francis may be hesitant to wear a mask.

The purpose of crying out to the Lord in prayer is not to get used to suffering, but to remember that God, and not humankind, is the only source of salvation and consolation, Pope Francis said.

“We’re on the brink,” Cardinal Czerny said, because people are suffering from “a health collapse and an economic collapse, at the same moment as the Paris Climate Agreement I.O.U.s are coming in and there is a migrant situation that is dire.”

The four are in isolation while their contacts are being traced. They join three other Vatican residents who tested positive in recent weeks.

The Vatican released a brief video clip of the meeting, a clear sign both the pope and Pell wanted the reception to be seen widely.