The primacy of the church at the peripheries has been a key theme in Francis’ selection of cardinals. He has used the cardinalate to reach communities in countries that are experiencing poverty, conflict and political tension.

The new cardinals will bring the total number of cardinal electors to 128, of whom 73 will have been appointed by Pope Francis.

Many are wondering after the lack of response by the Vatican to questions raised about what Pope Francis actually said about civil unions.

After being received in private audience by Pope Francis last Monday, Cardinal George Pell concluded an unforgettable week by celebrating his first public Mass in Rome since his return to the Vatican on Sept. 30.

“We’re on the brink,” Cardinal Czerny said, because people are suffering from “a health collapse and an economic collapse, at the same moment as the Paris Climate Agreement I.O.U.s are coming in and there is a migrant situation that is dire.”

Dr. Anna Rowlands told America that Pope Francis "“gets populism. He gets what is the drive toward it and he rescues the notion of what it means to be ‘a people’ from the hands of the populists."

Jude Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salem, an advisor to the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, praised Pope Francis as being dedicated to achieving "human fraternity."

The encyclical letter “Fratelli Tutti” returns to many major themes of Francis’ papacy, reports America’s Gerard O’Connell, but incorporated into a grand vision of social friendship and international cooperation.

Father Guerrero emphasized that the Roman Curia is not like a corporation or company seeking to make profit: “Our mission will always tend to produce deficits, it will never generate enough funds [for our needs].”

Domenico Sorrentino speaks to America about Pope Francis' deep devotion to St. Francis of Assisi. The pope will sign his new encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti," in Assisi on Saturday, Oct. 3.