Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. 

“A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute,” the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. 

Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the morning, arriving in the Floating City by 8 a.m. The pope’s visit, albeit short, holds a deep meaning as Francis is the first pontiff to visit the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition, which is marking its 60th iteration. As part of the exhibition the Holy See has erected a pavilion at the women's prison titled “With my eyes.” The pope also spoke with artists while he visited the pavilion.

Taking a center seat in the intimate courtyard of the 16th-century former convent, the pope opened his address by saying that he wanted it to be thought not as an “official visit” but an “encounter” centered on “prayer, closeness and fraternal affection.” 

“No one should take away people's dignity,” Pope Francis said to the inmates, volunteers, and staff, joined by the Patriarch of Venice, Archbishop Francesco Moraglia. 

Drawing attention to the “harsh reality” of prison, the pope highlighted some of the problems inmates are confronted with “such as overcrowding, the lack of facilities and resources, and episodes of violence, [which] give rise to a great deal of suffering there.” 

But Francis, anchoring his message on hope and mercy, implored the women to “always look at the horizon, always look to the future, with hope.” 

The pope continued by noting that prison can also be a place of “moral and material rebirth where the dignity of women and men is not ‘placed in isolation’ but promoted through mutual respect and the nurturing of talents and abilities, perhaps dormant or imprisoned by the vicissitudes of life, but which can re-emerge for the good of all and which deserve attention and trust.” 

Pope Francis stressed that it is “fundamental” that prisons offer inmates “the tools and room for human, spiritual, cultural and professional growth, creating the conditions for their healthy reintegration. Not to ‘isolate dignity,’ but to give new possibilities.” 

“Let us not forget that we all have mistakes to be forgiven and wounds to heal and that we can all become the healed who bring healing, the forgiven who bring forgiveness, the reborn who bring rebirth,” the pope added. 

At the end of the encounter there was a light-hearted exchange, when the pope, after asking the inmates to pray for him — who responded in unison “Of course” —– quipped: “But in my favor, not against.”

At the end of the address, the pope presented an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a gift to the inmates, saying: “Mary has tenderness with all of us, with all of us, she is the mother of tenderness.” In return the female inmates presented the pope with a basket of all-natural toiletries they make through a worker-training program. 

Following the encounter with the inmates, the pope made his way to the prison’s chapel, where he spoke to the artists, imploring them to use their craft to envision a world based on fraternity where “no human being is considered a stranger.” 

“Art has the status of a ‘city of refuge,’” the pope said to the artists, “a city that disobeys the regime of violence and discrimination in order to create forms of human belonging capable of recognizing, including, protecting and embracing everyone.” 

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public Domain

Vatican City, Apr 27, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati could be declared a saint during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, according to the head of the Vatican’s office for saints’ causes.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, announced at Catholic Action’s national assembly in Sacrofano, Italy, on April 26 that Frassati’s canonization is “on the horizon.” 

“I would like to tell you that the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is now clearly on the horizon and is in sight for the coming Jubilee Year,” the cardinal said, according to Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.

Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”

The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and third order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick, as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.

Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.

On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.

Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.

Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.”

To be canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church, a miracle attributed to Frassati’s intercession will need to be officially recognized in a decree signed by the pope. Pope Francis usually signs these types of decrees when he meets with Semeraro.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Before converting to Catholicism, Michael Baggot took his questions about faith and the church to the first place many people go with their questions: the internet.

Now a member of the Legionaries of Christ and a priest, Father Baggot spoke of "how important those online resources were for me in providing information and guidance, and how instrumental in God's providence they were to bring me eventually to baptism, to confirmation and to first holy Communion."

But some 20 years after his conversion, the internet has radically changed. Artificially intelligent chatbots are becoming a normal means for accessing information while omnipresent algorithms largely determine the type of content people encounter online in search results and on social media. And the Catholic Church is taking notice.

Pope Francis focused his messages for the church's 2024 celebrations of World Peace Day and World Communications Day on the use of artificial intelligence. He wrote that AI-powered systems "can help to overcome ignorance and facilitate the exchange of information," but he voiced his concern that such a rapid digital revolution can imprison people in "echo chambers" and leave humanity "adrift in a mire of confusion, prey to the interests of the market or of the powers that be."

Speaking at a conference April 18, Father Baggot said that while Catholics must have "an awareness of human sin and the capacity to misuse technology" when thinking about artificial intelligence, they must also have "confidence in grace, in redemption and the ability to harness these technologies well."

To that end, the conference at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, a Jesuit-run academic institution dedicated to studying Eastern Christianity, explored how the church can leverage the power of artificially intelligent tools to its benefit, showcasing two products developed by Longbeard -- a digital services company focused on Catholic-related projects.

MagisteriumAI, a large language model with an interface similar to ChatGPT's, seeks to synthesize and explain church teaching in natural language while drawing from more than 5,700 magisterial documents and over 2,300 Catholic theological and philosophical works. The other tool, Vulgate, allows scholars to upload entire libraries onto a platform, converting the contents into data that can be easily searched for, translated and summarized.

"When we saw ChatGPT out there and we learned that Catholics were using it to ask doctrinal questions and things like that, it drove us to then say, can we do this better than ChatGPT?" Matthew Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, said at the forum.

He demonstrated how MagisteriumAI responded to several different queries posed to it in different languages. One question he asked was, "What does the church say about Islam?" to which MagisteriumAI responded, "The Church regards Muslims with esteem" before elaborating further and citing six magisterial documents that users could read by following the links.

"When ChatGPT first came out, one of the concerns was it was generating responses but not providing transparency as to where that generation came from," Sanders said. "One of the first things we tried to do when we designed this AI system was to make sure there is transparency so that whatever answer is being generated by the system, you can see where that generation is coming from."

He added that the MagisteriumAI team had implemented a number of techniques to improve the tool's accuracy by greatly cutting down on its rate of "hallucinations" -- when AI systems provide incorrect and sometimes incoherent information in an effort to provide a response at any cost, even when they do not have the information available to do so.

Still, Sanders noted that the product is still in its beta stage and needs improvement although it is already being used in 150 countries by people ranging from bishops to high school students.

Catholic News Service asked him about the potential risks of entrusting complicated pastoral questions to an AI system. For example, when asked whether a Catholic priest can bless people in a same-sex relationship, MagisteriumAI answered "no," despite recent guidance from the Vatican allowing priests to discern when such a blessing could be opportune.

MagisteriumAI is "a tool that can be useful in some cases and in others, not so much," Sanders said. "All of its answers may not be perfect, if it seems like it's imperfect you should talk to a human being."

He added that it is particularly important to educate students and communities in the use of AI tools such as MagisteriumAI "so they understand what it is and what it is not."

Discussing MagisteriumAI as an evangelization tool, Father Baggot said, "When you start to explore the church's resources, you can be very easily intimidated by a long list of Latin titles, but with a system like MagisteriumAI you can enter into a kind of dialogue, and you can begin right with the questions that interest you most and that will eventually open you up to the broader picture."

"I see this as a great tool to first engage and give a kind of safe space, if you will, where people can explore these issues that they would never bring up to friends or family or other colleagues at a certain moment in their life," he said, noting that after online information gathering people will eventually want to talk to a human being about their questions.

"It's meant to bring us to another in-person experience," he said.

AI: The church's response

Father Philip Larrey, a professor of philosophy at Rome's Pontifical Lateran University talks about the challenges and promises of artificial intelligence.

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that “a negotiated peace is better than an endless war.”

CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O’Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff’s residence in the Vatican.

During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.

O’Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: “Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an endless war,” he said.

Regarding the children who are suffering the consequences of the war in Gaza, Pope Francis said that “every afternoon at 7 p.m. I call the parish in Gaza. There are about 600 people there, and they tell me what’s happening. It’s very hard. Very, very hard. And food comes in, but they have to struggle to get it. It’s very hard,” he lamented. The pope also assured that he prays a lot for peace to be achieved.

The pontiff also asked people to think about the children of Ukraine, who due to the war “forget how to smile,” which he described as “very serious.”

In the interview, Pope Francis also talked about climate change and said that those who deny it do so “because they don’t understand it or for what benefits them,” and stressed that “climate change exists.”

Regarding those who don’t see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore, the Holy Father responded that in the Church “there is always a place,” noting that “the Church is very big. It’s more than a church building … you shouldn’t flee from it.”

Pope Francis’ controversial ‘white flag’ statements

When referring to the conflict in Ukraine during an interview released in March by the Swiss radio station RSI, Pope Francis said: “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates.”

The words sparked some controversy, as they were interpreted as a call for Ukraine’s surrender to Russia and had to be clarified by the spokesman for the Holy See’s Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican spokesman clarified that the Holy Father supported “a cessation of hostilities and a truce achieved with the courage to negotiate,” rather than Ukraine’s outright surrender.

Bruni also pointed out that it was the journalist interviewing the pontiff who had used the term “white flag” when asking the question.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Sept. 25, 2015. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

Rome Newsroom, Apr 25, 2024 / 07:22 am (CNA).

Pope Francis is reportedly considering returning to the United States in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.

The news was initially reported by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, meanwhile, told CNA this week that “a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pope Francis seems inclined to respond positively.”

If the New York trip occurs, the pope would visit the United Nations during its “Summit of the Future,” which the international body will convene from Sept. 22–23.

The possible trip to the United States could change the pope’s already-busy September travel schedule. The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will be in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore from Sept. 2–13.

Pope Francis is also expected at the end of September in Belgium, where he is scheduled to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the University of Louvain, which has been divided into two different linguistic entities since the 1960s. The Holy Father told Mexican television network Televisa last December that he intended to travel to Belgium in 2024.

According to a source familiar with the planning of papal trips, Pope Francis’ trip to Louvain could be postponed to 2025. The postponement of the journey would leave room at the end of September for the visit to the United Nations.

During his planned stay in Belgium, Pope Francis will also celebrate Mass at the national shrine of Koelkenberg. There are also rumors that the pontiff will stop in Luxembourg, one of the small nations favored by the pope for trips to Europe. Luxembourg officials have denied the visit, but the Vatican Secretariat of State has indicated the trip is possible.

The September summit’s objective is to strengthen the structures of the United Nations and global “governance” to face more fully the “new and old challenges” of the coming years, the U.N. has said. 

The meeting will lead a “pact for the future” to advance rapidly toward realizing the U.N.’s “sustainable development goals.”

In a meeting with students in April, Pope Francis described the summit as “an important event,” with the Holy Father urging students to help ensure the plan “becomes concrete and is implemented through processes and actions for change.”

Pope Francis, who is 87, has undergone two surgeries in the last four years and is under regular medical screening. A planned trip to Abu Dhabi to participate in the COP28 meeting was canceled last December due to health reasons. 

The pope was last in the United States in 2015, during which he also appeared before the United Nations.

    
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The most important outcome of the current Synod of Bishops on synodality is the synodal process itself and not the hot-button topics discussed, Pope Francis said.

With the second synod assembly scheduled for October, the pope said the synod process is approaching its "most challenging and important" stage -- the point at which it must become "prophetic."

"Now it is a matter of translating the work of the previous stages into choices that will give impetus and new life to the mission of the church in our time," he told members of the Italian Catholic Action lay association in a packed St. Peter's Square April 25.

But he noted that "the most important thing of this synod is synodality, the subjects and topics (discussed) are there to advance this expression of the church that is synodality."

"For this, there is a need for people forged in the Spirit, for 'pilgrims of hope,'" Pope Francis said, "men and women capable of charting and walking new and challenging paths."

In March, Pope Francis decided that some of the most controversial issues raised at the first synod assembly "requiring in-depth study" will be examined by study groups; the groups are to issue preliminary reports to the synod assembly in October and give their final reports to the pope by June 2025.

The 10 themes to be explored by the study groups include the guidelines for priestly formation, the role of women in the church and their participation in community leadership, listening to the poor and the criteria for selecting bishops.

While some questions require deeper study, Pope Francis told the crowd to "be athletes and standard bearers of synodality in the dioceses and parishes of which you are part, for a full implementation of the (synodal) path taken so far."

The Vatican said that 60,000 children, young people and adults were gathered in and around St. Peter's Square for the association's meeting with the pope.

Italian Catholic Action is a lay Catholic association with roots going back to 1867. In 2021, Vatican News reported that the group had more than 270,000 members.

Looking out into the crowd gathered within the arms of Bernini's colonnade, the pope asked them to promote peace by being witnesses of the human embrace.

"At the origin of wars are often missed or rejected embraces, which are followed by prejudice, misunderstanding, suspicion, to the point of seeing the other as an enemy," he said. "All this is unfortunately before our eyes these days in too many parts of the world."

Pope Francis also encouraged them to let themselves be embraced by God's love which is revealed in the Eucharist and in Christ on the cross.

"Brothers and sisters, let us be embraced by him, like children," he said. "We each have something childlike in our hearts that needs a hug. Let us be embraced by the Lord, that way, in the embrace of the Lord we learn to embrace others."

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate Cisco, signs the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, on April 24, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 11:06 am (CNA).

The CEO of Cisco Systems signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge on Wednesday, becoming the latest technology giant to join the Church’s call for ethical and responsible use of AI.

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate, met privately with Pope Francis on April 24 before signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

The document, first published by the pontifical academy in February 2020, has previously been signed by Microsoft President Brad Smith and IBM Executive John Kelly III.

The Rome Call underlines the need for “algor-ethics,” which, according to the text, is the ethical use of artificial intelligence according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

The text quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in pointing to the equal dignity and rights of all humans, which AI must protect and guarantee, it says, while calling equally for the “benefit of humanity and the environment.”

It states there are three requirements for “technological advancement to align with true progress for the human race and respect for the planet” — it must be inclusive, have the good of humankind at its core, and care for the planet with a highly sustainable approach.

Robbins said that “the Rome Call principles align with Cisco’s core belief that technology must be built on a foundation of trust at the highest levels in order to power an inclusive future for all.” 

Years before the widely popular release of the GPT-4 chatbot system, developed by the San Francisco start-up OpenAI, the Vatican was already heavily involved in the conversation of artificial intelligence ethics, hosting high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2016 and 2020.

The pope established the RenAIssance Foundation in April 2021 as a Vatican nonprofit foundation to support anthropological and ethical reflection of new technologies on human life.

Pope Francis also chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 09:09 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday opened a new chapter in his ongoing catechetical series on virtues by pivoting to a reflection on the three theological virtues — faith, hope, and charity — which he noted form the key pillars of Christian life.

The Holy Father bolstered his analysis by looking to the legacy of St. John Paul II.

“Looking at his life, we can see what man can achieve by accepting and developing within himself the gifts of God: faith, hope, and charity,” the pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. 

Saturday will mark the 10th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s canonization.

“Remain faithful to his legacy. Promote life and do not be deceived by the culture of death. Through his intercession, we ask God for the gift of peace for which he, as pope, has worked so hard.”

The pope framed his predecessor’s legacy within the context of the three theological virtues, which he characterized as the “fundamental attributes” of a Christian life and “the great antidote to self-sufficiency.”

“The Christian is never alone,” the pope said. “He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment but because, as a humble disciple, he walks behind the master, Jesus.” 

Harkening back to his previous reflections on the four cardinal virtues — prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance — Pope Francis noted while they “constitute the ‘hinge’ of a good life,” it is the three theological virtues that lead Christians “toward the fullness of life,” as they are “received and lived out in relationship with God.” 

But the pope stressed that the four cardinal virtues were not “replaced” by Christianity but instead “enhanced, purified, and integrated.”

The pope stressed that living a life predicated upon the theological virtues forms a firewall against the vices, namely pride, which can “spoil a whole life marked by goodness.” 

The pope asked: “A person may have performed a mountain of good deeds, may have reaped accolades and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, to exalt himself, can he still call himself a virtuous person?” 

But the Holy Father reminded the faithful: “If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, he revives the theological virtues in us. If we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; if our heart is hardened, God softens it with his love.” 

At the end of the audience, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for peace for the “tormented” Ukraine, as well as in Myanmar, and in Israel and Palestine, repeating his regular refrain: “War is always a defeat.” 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance are the marks of a righteous individual, the virtues of faith, hope and love emphasize a connection to other people fueled by belief in God and reliance on prayer, Pope Francis said.

"The Christian is never alone. He or she does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment, but because, as a humble disciple, he or she walks behind the master Jesus," the pope said April 24 at his weekly general audience.

Bundled up in a coat on a chilly spring morning, Pope Francis continued his audience talks about virtue, distinguishing between the "cardinal" -- meaning "hinge" -- virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, which are essential for living a righteous life, and the "theological" or New Testament virtues of faith, hope and charity.

The cardinal virtues were espoused and promoted by ancient philosophers well before the development of Christianity, the pope said. "Honesty was preached as a civic duty, wisdom as the rule for actions, courage as the fundamental ingredient for a life that tends toward the good and moderation as the necessary measure not to be overwhelmed by excesses."

Christianity, he said, did not replace that ethical heritage, but "enhanced, purified, and integrated" it with the teachings of Jesus about faith, hope and love.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the pope noted, says the three theological virtues "are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues."

Those virtues, he said, also are "the great antidote to self-sufficiency" and prevent a good person from falling into pride.

"Pride is a poison; it is a powerful poison: one drop of it is enough to spoil an entire life marked by goodness," the pope said.

If people perform good works only "to exalt themselves, can they still call themselves virtuous? No," he said.

"Goodness is not only an end, but also a way. Goodness needs a lot of discretion, a lot of kindness," the pope said. "Above all, goodness needs to be stripped of that sometimes too unwieldy presence that is our self."

Greeting Polish pilgrims, Pope Francis noted that April 27 is the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. John Paul II. "Looking at his life, we can see what man can achieve by accepting and developing within himself the gifts of God: faith, hope and charity."

Amid an ongoing debate about liberalizing the nation's abortion laws, Pope Francis asked Polish Catholics to "remain faithful to his legacy. Promote life and do not be deceived by the culture of death."

Expressing his ongoing concern about wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Myanmar, Pope Francis encouraged people to ask, through the intercession of St. John Paul, "for the gift of peace to which he, as pope, was so committed."

Pride 'poisons' righteousness, pope says

 

A look at Pope Francis' April 24 general audience.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Jesus called himself the "good shepherd," he was telling people not only that he was their guide, but that they were important to him and "that he thinks of each of us as the love of his life," Pope Francis said.

"Consider this: for Christ, I am important, he thinks of me, I am irreplaceable, worth the infinite price of his life," which he laid down for the salvation of all, the pope said April 21 before reciting the "Regina Coeli" prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square.

Jesus was not just saying something nice, the pope said. Each believer should recognize that "he truly gave his life for me; he died and rose again for me. Why? Because he loves me, and he finds in me a beauty that I often do not see myself."

Many people think of themselves as inadequate or undeserving of love, he said. Or they believe their value comes from what they have or are able to do.

In the day's Gospel reading, Jn 10:11-18, "Jesus tells us that we are always infinitely worthy in his eyes," the pope said.

To understand and experience the truth of that statement, Pope Francis said, "the first thing to do is to place ourselves in his presence, allowing ourselves to be welcomed and lifted up by the loving arms of our good shepherd."

The pope asked people in the square to consider if they find or make the time each day "to embrace this assurance that gives value to my life" and "for a moment of prayer, of adoration, of praise, to be in the presence of Christ and to let myself be caressed by him."

That time in prayer, he said, will remind a person that "he gave his life for you, for me, for all of us. And that for him, we are all important, each and every one of us."

After reciting the "Regina Coeli," Pope Francis told the crowd that he continues to follow the tensions in Israel, Palestine and throughout the Middle East "with concern and also with grief."

"I renew my appeal not to give in to the logic of vengeance and war. May the paths of dialogue and diplomacy, which can do so much, prevail," he said. "I pray every day for peace in Palestine and Israel, and I hope that these two peoples may stop suffering soon."

He also asked Catholics to continue to pray for peace in Ukraine and for the people who are suffering because of the war.