German and Swiss bishops who knew and worked with Father Hans Küng described him as a man who loved the Catholic Church, even though the theologian sometimes went beyond the limits of Catholic doctrine and criticized the decisions of church leaders.

Three days after the preacher of the papal household called on Catholics to repent for the ways they are dividing the church, the Vatican secretary of state said the divisions are real and they are harmful.

"Fraternity among Catholics is wounded," Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa said. "Divisions between churches have torn Christ's tunic to shreds.”

Climate change and environmental destruction are forcing millions from their homes, and Catholics have a responsibility to assist them, Pope Francis wrote.

The pope in late February accepted the resignation of Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, who had reached the normal retirement age of 75 last June. The cardinal had been prefect since 2014.

Pope Francis visited a Baghdad cathedral that is now a shrine to 48 Christian martyrs who died Oct. 31, 2010, when militants belonging to a group linked to al-Qaida laid siege to the church.

”Enlightening a single conscience is worth the effort and pain of keeping alive the memory of what has been.”

“Jesus announces to us that God is not an idea or an abstract doctrine, but God is the one who ‘contaminates’ himself with our human woundedness and is not afraid to come into contact with our wounds,” the pope said.

The restrictions include church closures. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Iraq March 5-8, and he has events planned in churches each day.

"[Vatican II] is the magisterium of the church. Either you are with the church and therefore you follow the council, or if you do not follow the council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the church."