Pope Francis on Monday warned against righteous hypocrisy and urged Christians to be merciful.   During his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope reflected on the Gospel readings of the day and on another Gospel passage pointing out that “where there is no mercy there is no justice”. Referring to […]

Capital punishment is cruel, inhuman and an offense to the dignity of human life. In today’s world, the death penalty is “inadmissible, however serious the crime” that has been committed. That was Pope Francis’ unequivocal message to members of the International Commission against the death penalty who met with him on Friday morning in the […]

Pope Francis today turned his thoughts to the countless children across the world who live in poverty and need. Addressing the crowds in St. Peter’s Square gathered for the weekly General Audience, the Pope continued in his catechesis on the family, focusing this time on children. Pope Francis said that children are a great gift […]

Pope Francis on Thursday received a group of priests and bishops participating in a special formation initiative of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the internal forum. The Apostolic Penitentiary is the Church tribunal that deals primarily with issues that arise in and around the Sacrament of Confession, as well as the lifting of excommunications reserved to […]

Focusing primarily on the reading from the Gospel according to St Matthew (18:21-35), in which the Lord counsels His disciples to forgive “seventy times seven” times, i.e. always and without stint, the Holy Father addressed the close connection between God’s forgiveness of our sins and our forgiveness of others. Drawing on the Old Testament reading […]