”I told him that women from the Amazon and North America are making this path of discernment for the ministry of women in the church and [about] the need to advance in recognizing the diaconal service that we provide to the church.”

Because his check-up was on Tuesday, a day on which he normally does not have any audiences in the Vatican, it seems reasonable to say the visit was scheduled in advance.

According to many in the Vatican, Archbishop Gänswein’s tell-all book published shortly after Benedict’s death revealed a lack of trustworthiness, loyalty and reserve on the part of a man who was meant to be serving two popes.

The pope’s refusal to cheer either side in this war gives him credibility as mediator.

In his general audience, Pope Francis discusses the apostolic zeal of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit who successfully taught and spread the Gospel in China in the 1500s.

Catholic artists, poets, writers and filmmakers serve the church not by trying to “domesticate” Christ but by helping people challenge and expand their knowledge of the Lord, Pope Francis said.