Outspoken papal critic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò released a letter Monday blaming “deep state” forces in the United States, the European Union and NATO for triggering the current war and demonizing Russia.

The number of Catholics in the world grew by more than 15 million from 2018 to 2019. But in Europe, the number of Catholic faithful decreased by almost 300,000.

Pope Francis called for greater female leadership in world affairs, telling the Women’s Forum G-20 that “our world needs the collaboration of women, their leadership and their abilities, as well as their intuition and their dedication.”

But the pope also encouraged activists to help rebuild society’s “fabric of relationships” by working towards unity rather than division.

The preparation process and the 2023 Synod have the potential to revolutionize the way decisions are made in the Catholic Church and promote a more decentralized structure of authority.

“I’m completely immersed in something way bigger than myself,” actor Shia LaBeouf said in an Instagram post published by Capuchin Friar Hai Ho last week.

While the Taliban have promised not to shed any blood, some locals fear that the Islamist regime will lead to persecutions and violence.

“As Pope Francis says, sport is a place of encounter and formation, but also evangelism and sharing of the Christian message.”

The day before Easter this year, a group of transgender people came to the Vatican at the invitation of Pope Francis to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to an official who oversees the pope’s charitable works.

“The gesture by the Holy Father strengthened me and reconciled me with the world,” said Lidia Maksymowicz, 80, a Polish woman of Belorussian descent who survived the concentration camp as a child.