Jesus’ peace “is not an armed peace, never!” Pope Francis said in his general audience. “The weapons of the Gospel are prayer, tenderness, forgiveness and freely-given love for one’s neighbor.”

The institutional Catholic Church as we currently experience it is simply not going to be able to survive, and yet much of our leadership seems content to blame the messenger and insist on business as usual. So what to do?

The new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See officially began his duties April 11, presenting his letters of credential to Pope Francis.

On Palm Sunday, Pope Francis made an appeal to “lay down the arms in Ukraine” and asked, “What kind of a victory would it be to plant a flag on a heap of ruins?”

“In the course of this week, let us cling to the certainty that God can forgive every sin. He forgives everyone. He can bridge every distance, and turn all mourning into dancing.”

In this exclusive interview, Canadian Archbishop Don Bolen shares the significance of the pope’s meeting with Indigenous survivors of Canada’s residential schools and what he expects from the pope’s pledged visit to Canada.