After 21 days of silence, Pope Francis sent an audio message of thanks from his hospital bed to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square this evening to recite the Rosary for his recovery.

Pope Francis had a “peaceful” 21st night in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “is still resting,” the Vatican said at 8:15 a.m., March 6.

The church opposes “the ideology that usually accompanies so many sex-change decisions,” which Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández said is an ideology that claims “omnipotence” and refuses to recognize the reality of one’s body as a gift.

A Reflection for Thursday after Ash Wednesday, by Kevin Christopher Robles

His doctors have concluded, however, that “given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains guarded,” meaning they do not consider him out of danger yet.

The European bishops were careful to note that their expression of solidarity was extended to Ukrainians “who have been suffering from Russia’s unjustifiable full-scale invasion for more than three years.”

In 2016, the Zaheda flew to Italy from Lesbos on the pope’s plane. “He’s a gift from paradise,” Hasan Zaheda said on Sunday. “Pope Francis, a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us.”

An informed Vatican source said today, “Pope Francis’ overall situation is stable, within the complexity of his clinical situation.” He underlined, however, that “the prognosis remains guarded, which means the pope is not yet out of danger.”

Economist and Jesuit priest Stephen Pitts, S.J., weighs in on President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.