In choosing new cardinals, Francis has been guided by five criteria.

“How truly difficult it is for us to pardon those who have done us wrong!”

Pope Francis bade farewell on July 31 to an estimated 1.6 million young people from 187 countries in Krakow, Poland, for World Youth Day. In his homily at the festival Mass, he challenged them “to have the courage to be more powerful than evil by loving everyone, even our enemies.”Franci

Cardinal Tong seeks to respond to those who wonder whether an agreement between the Holy See and Beijing “may be going against the principles of the church.”

The commission includes six women among its twelve members, including Phyllis Zagano, who has written widely on the subject of women deacons.

“I feel the desire to go on mission and ‘shake things up’ (Hagan lio!), as Francis told us.”

The pope also addresses problems in Turkey and Venezuela, and allegations against Cardinal Pell.

After the homily centered on the story of Zacchaeus, the pope announced the next W.Y.D. in Panama in 2019.

"God expects something from you," the pope says at a prayer vigil of 1.6 million in Krakow.

In Krakow, the pope honors two Polish priests killed by the Shining Path terrorist group in Peru.