The view that the Eucharist is a symbol of Jesus has alarmed many U.S. bishops because belief in the real presence of Christ in the consecrated host is a central church teaching.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, was released from a Washington hospital Monday morning after an overnight stay early in his 12-day visit to the United States.

Last year, Pope Francis said, “There can be no stepping back" from the church’s opposition to the death penalty. It is time to put this teaching into action and stop executions in the United States for good.

The worship of expertise, detached from any transcendent perspective, has already plagued modern life. Now rationality is becoming just another weapon with which to attack others.

“It’s clear that the pope does not agree with the president about abortion. He’s made that exceptionally clear.”

The pope calls his three T’s—“Tierra, techo, trabajo”—sacred rights.