The Vatican said that Pope Francis's comments on the death of Darya Dugina were meant to defend life, not affirm the Russian side of the war in Ukraine.

The pope told the patriarch that “we are not clerics of the state, we cannot use the language of politics, but of Jesus.”

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, currently facing charges of embezzlement and abuse of office, said Pope Francis invited him to attend the Aug. 27 consistory.

A judge set a five-day trial for Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun and four other defendants who face charges of failing to properly register a now-defunct fund to help anti-government protesters.

The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Kazakhstan in September and attend an interreligious meeting in the capital city, Nur-Sultan.

In an address at a gala dinner in Rome, Justice Alito joked about the international reaction to the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which he wrote.

“We are reaching a breaking point,” the pope wrote in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation.

The Vatican released a new policy consolidating the investment portfolios of all offices and keeping all current and future investments in line with the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

In an address to members of three religious orders, the pope asked for "zero tolerance" for abusers in the church and expressed his "closeness" with the people of Ukraine.

When asked if he felt he had changed during his papacy, the pope said he was told by several people “that things that were dormant in my personality came to the surface; that I became more merciful.”