In the text of the Holy Father’s prayer sent to chanceries around the globe so that bishops can join Pope Francis on Friday March 25, a key passage for many observers reads: “Mother of God and our mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.”

In order to help people encounter Jesus, priests “need to listen to the Spirit together with the whole people of God, so as to renew our faith and find new ways and languages to share the Gospel with our brothers and sisters,” Secretary-General of the Synod of the Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech and Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik have written, in a letter to priests and clergy released 19 March. By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service.

Aid to the Church in Need Head of Press Maria Lozano has last week interviewed Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas about the situation in Kiev, the humanitarian crisis, solidarity among the population and the drama of war.

Pope Francis has confirmed he will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on 25 March, the Vatican said. By Catholic News Service.

True happiness and true freedom, he said, “are not found in possessing, but in sharing; not in taking advantage of others, but in loving them; not in the obsession of power, but in the joy of service,” said Pope Francis on 6 March, during his Sunday Angelus address. By Junno Arocho Esteves.

Perth Ukrainian Parish Priest Fr Ihor Hovoloko has this week spoken of the deep sadness of his people and the horror which is being visited upon them and asked for continued prayers, not only for the end of the war, but for the restoration of peace.

Father Ihor joined Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB at St Mary‘s Cathedral for the Ash Wednesday Mass, on 2 March, marking the beginning of the season of Lent.

As Bishop Shane Mackinlay explains in the video above, when Pope Francis decided to hold what is now known as the Synod on Synodality, the Church in Australia found itself with some groundwork having already been laid in preparing for the Plenary Council.

In his 2022 Lenten Message, Pope Francis has said Christians are called to sow goodness their entire lives, but even more so during Lent.

Christians must resist “concupiscence,” the tendency to sin, which is a weakness that leads to “selfishness and all evil and finds in the course of history, a variety of ways to lure men and women into sin,” he wrote.

Pope Francis greets asylum-seekers transferred from Cyprus to Italy with his help, during a meeting at the Vatican on 17 December 2021. The migrants are being assisted by the Vatican and the Community of Sant'Egidio. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service Pope Francis' message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022 will reflect on the importanc...

As part of ongoing measures to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has approved restructuring the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest of the congregations.