papal visit

The bishop circulated the appeal as Kenyan troops were deployed Nov. 2 as part of an East African regional force in eastern Congo, in a fresh bid to end violence by rival militia groups.

Pope Francis’ September visit to Kazakhstan will mostly focus on a gathering of religious leaders from around the world, but it will also include a Mass and meeting with Catholics in this Muslim-majority nation.

“Making good things happen doesn’t mean wrong things never happened. Wrongs are history. They endure. But actions, particularly actions that seek genuine forgiveness, can be signifiers of change, indeed, of progress.”

The first step of Pope Francis’ “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada involved him returning two pairs of children’s moccasins.

Saying civilization itself risks foundering because of apathy and selfishness, Pope Francis insisted that migrants and refugees must be treated with care and kindness and recognized as brothers and sisters.

The pope has made it a fairly frequent habit to get in a car and go visit people or — less frequently — to a store to conduct his own business.

Pope Francis’ upcoming trip could prove to be among his most challenging visits at a time when distrust in government authorities and the looming threat of the delta variant are leading the headlines.

“The pontiff said he looks forward to visiting our country, which is also where Abraham began his journey,” Cardinal Louis Sako of Baghdad said of the March 5-8 trip.