In a speech read by an aide, Pope Francis told a group of grieving parents that the best response to grief is “to imitate the emotion and compassion of Jesus in the face of pain.”

Pope Francis went from the audience to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for a checkup before returning to the Vatican. In November when he was suffering similar symptoms, he had gone to that hospital for a CT scan of his lungs.

After participating in a seminar on the Catholic Church and the Freemasons, an Italian bishop reaffirmed that Catholics who belong to Masonic lodges are in a “serious state of sin” and cannot receive Communion.

Pope Francis has canceled his appointments today after The Vatican press office announced he was experiencing “mild flu-like symptoms.”

During Lent, Pope Francis said, Catholics—and especially Catholic seminarians—should rediscover the joy of simplicity, and pay less attention to their appearance and more to their prayer lives.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, recently made comments regarding the death toll in Gaza that the The Israeli Embassy to the Holy See has defined as “regrettable.”

The Vatican has recently focused its efforts on not closing off women in the Church to the process of liturgical formation saying it's not for “a few experts” but should be a goal for all Catholics.

In a recent interview with an Italian magazine, Pope Francis provided more comments on “Fiducia Supplicans,” highlighting the hypocrisy behind those shocked that a priest would bless a gay couple but have no problem with him blessing a crooked businessman.

With the help of a woman Anglican bishop, a Salesian sister and a consecrated virgin, Pope Francis and his cardinal advisors sought to deepen their reflection on the role of women in the church.

In cases of a cleric sexually abusing a “vulnerable adult,” the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith investigates and judges only cases involving “persons who habitually have an imperfect use of reason.”