During the Aug. 25 recitation of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis expressed his concern over a recent Ukrainian law that proscribed the Russian Orthodox Church.

Drawing on work of lay Catholic prison chaplain Dale Recinella, Pope Francis paints death penalty as toxic and ineffective.

On August 14, Catholics commemorate the death of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar who sacrificed his life to save a fellow prisoner from execution by the Nazis.

There are no simple answers as to how to end a war. Benedict XV’s prophetic but ignored call for “a stable peace honorable to all” in World War I should be an example for Pope Francis.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Pope Francis also repeated his ardent desire to visit China, discussed how he handles stress and criticism, and shared that he has experienced crises in his religious life as a Jesuit.

Celebrating Mass for the feast of Our Lady of the Snows at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, Pope Francis urged Catholics to remember the unexpected beauty of God's grace.