Every meal, every day can be an image of the Eucharist. Although we are required to work hard and do our best, it is not about us or our efforts.

The pope also urged prayers for all those who endure persecution because of their faith today.

“The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of atomic weapons is immoral,” he said. “We will be judged on this.”

This is Francis’ second visit to Japan. He came here in October 1987 to visit Jesuit missionaries as provincial. 

The accusations of paganism and idolatry at the Synod on the Amazon sent a troubling message about the universality of the church, writes Mary McAuliffe, a teacher at a Jesuit school in the Pacific.

AP: Clergy sex abuse has cost more than $4 billion and implicated at least 5,100 priests by the church’s own count since 2002.