“Multilateral diplomacy is thus called to be truly inclusive,” the pope said, “not canceling but cherishing the differences and sensibilities that have historically marked various peoples.”

The pope sent a telegram to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan offering “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his spiritual closeness” to those affected by the blaze, which killed at least 19 people, including nine children.

To see headlines suggesting that not having kids is in some way selfish would be painful. But did Pope Francis really say that?

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J.—standing in for Colleen Dulle —and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell survey the pope’s plans for the new year.

In a handwritten letter, Pope Francis congratulated Sister Gramick on “50 years of closeness, of compassion and of tenderness” in a ministry that he described as being in “the style of God.”

The “Faith Manifesto,” signed by around 6,000 people, sharply criticizes the demands of the Synodal Path, which amount to a “self-secularization of the church,” Bernhard Meuser said.