The pope sent a letter of thanks to Michael O'Loughlin, America's national correspondent, this summer after receiving an advance copy of “Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.”

Pope Francis: The Gospel helps us to interpret “today’s pain and tomorrow’s hope” and calls on us to be ”witnesses of compassion amid widespread disinterest.”

With a pilgrim’s staff and mantle, Pope Francis entered Assisi’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels with 500 economically or socially disadvantaged people.

World leaders are running out of time and must address the challenges of climate change before it’s too late, Pope Francis said.

The prayer to the Holy Spirit is spontaneous: it needs to come from your heart. In difficult moments, you need to ask: “Holy Spirit, come.”

Pope Francis wants all Catholics to recognize that Vatican II and its reforms are not only authentic actions of the Holy Spirit but also are in continuity with the tradition of the church.