Commenting on the letter, Pope Francis said, "We must thank God, who alone guides and saves the church, for having allowed Paul VI to continue until the last day of his life to be father, pastor, master, brother and friend."

Pope John Paul II described the Mafia as "a culture of death, profoundly inhuman, anti-Gospel, an enemy of human dignity and civil peace.''

The theologians said a synodal attitude and way of being church flowed naturally from the Second Vatican Council's description of the church as a communion and its emphasis on the responsibility of all Catholics for the church's life and mission, although each person has been given different gifts and roles by the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis asked the bishops of Germany to continue working together to find broader consensus on guidelines for allowing a Protestant married to a Catholic to receive the Eucharist.

The television host asked panelists about the role of faith and prayer in healing.

The Italian government granted citizenship to Alfie Evans, a seriously ill British toddler, in a last-minute effort to prevent doctors in England from withdrawing life-support.

A prophetic pro-life stance "has no limits," while an "ideological approach" zeroes in on particulars.

“God is the one who says who goes to heaven,” the pope explained.

The pope has written an introduction to the new book "Potere e Denaro" ("Power and Money").

"Do we want to share in this message of life," he asked in his homily, "or do we prefer simply to continue standing speechless before events as they happen?"