“The reality of sexual abuse in our church goes to the heart of the synod’s agenda,” a statement by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said.

The world and the Catholic Church today need to take a leap forward “in faith, charity and hope,” Pope Francis said in his homily at a late afternoon Mass in Marseille’s open-air stadium.

“The exploitation of migrants is criminal” as is their detention, Pope Francis told reporters in August, and “I am going to Marseille for this.”

Any limitations and rules regarding media access and communications during the upcoming Synod of Bishops are rooted in the “essence” of a synod, said the head of the synod’s communication committee.

The top priority for Pope Francis' peace envoy in his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden was the repatriation of children forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia, the papal nuncio to the United States said.

Treated to songs, gifts and a paper medallion designating him ‘hero,’ Pope Francis visited children attending a summer camp at the Vatican.

“The pope is fine. He’s better than before,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon who operated on the pope June 7 to repair a hernia; he also operated on the pope in 2021.

The pope has been sleeping well at night and his recovery was going smoothly, according to daily updates from Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

Once deployed into orbit, the microsatellite was set to transmit papal messages of hope and peace in English, Italian and Spanish that any amateur radio receiver should be able to pick up.

The Catholic Church played a major role in bringing tobacco to Italy, which is still the number one producer of raw tobacco in the European Union today.