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.

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.”

The Trump administration “immediately terminated” its contract with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for refugee resettlement, effective Feb. 27, according to letters issued by the U.S. State Department a day earlier.

At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Vance said he wasn’t there to litigate “about who’s right and who’s wrong,” and credited Francis as one who “cares about the flock of Christians under his under his leadership.”

The Vatican strongly cautioned against publishing “news” that would harm the reputation of an individual, especially someone who is deceased, when it comes to priests accused of abuse and not found guilty in civil or canonical procedures.

The 88-year-old pope continues his slow recovery from double pneumonia, with results of more medical tests expected later Thursday.