Pompeo: “More than 80 percent of mankind lives in places where religious freedom is threatened or entirely denied and it’s no coincidence that it has happened as unfree societies have proliferated.”

“It is the voice of the local church, the voice of the church in the Amazon—of the church, of the people, of the history and of the very earth, the voice of the earth.... And this has value, it is not fake news,” Cardinal Hummes said.

Promoting religious freedom, providing humanitarian assistance and fighting human trafficking are three major issues the Vatican and the U.S. administration agree on and on which they will continue to coordinate efforts, panelists said at a joint symposium.

“Our vocation is to help men and women to live their human lives and to live them to the full,” said Father Czerny. “This is the big mission. This is what it means to preach the Gospel and to bring the Good News to the ends of the earth.”

Pope Francis has chosen Archbishop Bernardito Auza, currently the Vatican's representative to the United Nations, as nuncio to Spain.

"The synodal way is a 'sui generis' process, and not a synod or a particular council, and there'll be no separate German process, without Rome, on questions touching the universal church.