The letter also stated that Francis disagrees with identifying the illegal status of migrants with criminality, and called on the bishops “to walk together” and defend the human dignity of the migrants in their country.

As the United States and China vie for primacy in the field of artificial intelligence, the Vatican today issued a wide-ranging reflection on “the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence.”

Pope Francis sent “cordial greetings” and “assurance of my prayers” to Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

Pope Francis expressed the hope that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19, “would be respected immediately by all the parties [involved]” and would lead to “the release of all the hostages” and the rapid provision of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza.

“I think the synod is Francis’ way of concretizing his challenge to get [us] out of self-referentiality in the church, that we don’t just stick to our churchy language and deal only with fellow Catholics,” Cardinal David tells ‘America.’

The fall resulted “in a contusion to the right forearm, without any fracture,” but “the arm has been immobilized as a precautionary measure,” the Vatican stated.