While Pope Francis’ July 22-28 visit to Brazil has been planned almost down to the minute, the papal spokesman is certain it will be “a bit of an adventure.”

Every evening, Suhad Shunnara, 32, reads the Bible to her three sons and kneels with them to say the rosary. On Friday, she and her husband, Fuad, 40, send the children to religion class, and on Saturday, after Mass, they all watch a Christian TV channel together. In this small village of 4,000, where the Christian community totals 135 people, these small acts of their faith are not only a statement of their own beliefs but also an important way to instill in their children a love and understanding of the importance of their religious traditions to their own identities.

As Great Britain and Ireland debate right-to-life issues in current health care policies and legislation, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics there to uphold “the inestimable value of all human life.”

The drama in Texas over abortion that drew national and international attention came to an end for the moment after the state House of Representatives then the state Senate voted to adopt tougher abortion regulations.

As hundreds of thousands of young Catholic pilgrims descend on Brazil, World Youth Day coordinators in Rio de Janeiro are putting the finishing touches on preparations for up to 2.5 million people.

God wants people to be generous and merciful, not full of condemnation toward others, Pope Francis said. God is well aware of “our miseries, our difficulties, even our sins, and he gives all of us this merciful heart,” capable of being loving and merciful toward others, he told pilgrims gathered outside the papal summer villa.

Using the example of a big-hearted giraffe, the superior general of the Jesuits, Father Adolfo Nicolas, told 2,000 World Youth Day pilgrims: “Keep your eyes and your hearts open.”

A British official indicated the government will abandon a controversial end-of-life protocol following an anti-euthanasia campaign spearheaded by concerned Catholic physicians. An independent inquiry into the Liverpool Care Pathway has recommended that the protocol be abolished and replaced by “individualized care plans” after evidence of abuse and suffering was discovered.

At the age of 24, Meylan Legorburo had never left Cuba and never expected she would. Yet, on July 15, the social researcher and 47 other young Cubans were on their way to Jose Marti International Airport outside of Havana to board a flight for Brazil, where they planned to take part in World Youth Day.

Sweet and simple: That’s the menu plan for Pope Francis when he stays at a church-run residence during his visit to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day.