The committee also said it hopes the prize will highlight the need to strengthen global solidarity and cooperation in an era of go-it-alone nationalism.

In his exhortation on young people, “Christus Vivit” (“Christ Lives”), Pope Francis said Acutis was a role model for young people today who are often tempted by the traps of “self-absorption, isolation and empty pleasure.”

Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said the release of Father Maccalli as the church is preparing to celebrate World Mission Sunday Oct. 18 “is a great sign of hope for us, for Africa and for the universal church.”

In a press statement released on Oct. 8, the diocese said that the decision to restrict attendance at Mass to as few as 10 people in the worst-affected zip codes is a violation of the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.

As a reporter, it is my job to follow along as individuals and communities try to figure out who they want to be and how they want to live.

A perennial social crisis affecting many other issues, Pope Francis has called for a poor church for the poor. What does poverty in America look like in 2020? And will the political parties finally tackle the issue plaguing tens of millions of Americans?