VATICAN CITY – True believers do not condemn people for their sins or shortcomings but intercede on their behalf with God through prayer, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Amid a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic, Pope Francis soldiered on with his weekly general audience and called on people to not forget those who suffer from war and violence.

VATICAN CITY – Lent is a time to remove all distractions and bitterness from one’s life in order to better hear God and those who suffer silently and need help, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Visiting the small Catholic communities in Bulgaria and North Macedonia offered an opportunity to encourage the faithful to remember God’s miracle of being able to feed a multitude with just a few loaves and fishes, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – In back-to-back audiences with a group of French young people and an Italian association for deaf people, Pope Francis cited personal example and witness as a vital piece in the church’s evangelization mission.

VATICAN CITY
By Cindy Wooden

Been absent from the confessional? Head there now, Pope Francis said at his Feb. 19 general audience at the Vatican.