Without making room for God’s word in their heart, people will never be able to welcome and love all human life, Pope Francis has said this week in his 2017 Lenten message.

“What am I doing in Rome? People retire at my age,” a pensive, melancholy Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Sergio Hernandez) says early on in Call Me Francis. Netflix’s mini-series renders a textured, honest, yet sympathetic portrait of our current pontiff before he was Pope.

At a time when the media seem to feed a “vicious cycle of anxiety” and a “spiral of fear,” Christians should respond with honest stories that identify problems and evil, but also inspire real solutions, Pope Francis has said this week.

All members of religious groups deserve the right to not participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies if they hold a traditional view of marriage, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) said in a submission released late last week.

In an effort to share its masterpieces with even more people around the world, the Vatican Museums has established a YouTube channel and revamped its website to offer high-resolution images and mobile-friendly information.

Students and teachers from John XXIII College, Claremont, have this week presented a gift to Pope Francis at a General Audience.

Pope Francis has last weekend invited young people to tell him, their bishops and their pastors about their hopes and struggles and even their criticisms.

When Jolimont resident Peter Saunders looks back at Pope (now Saint) John Paul II’s tour of Australia more than 30 years ago, what he remembers most prominently is the generosity and support which the Western Australian community provided to him as State Director of the visit.

The Magi had the courage to set out on a journey in the hope of finding something new, unlike Herod who was full of himself and unwilling to change his ways, Pope Francis said.

Make time to get ready for what Christmas really is about — the child born in Bethlehem signalling that “God is with us,” Pope Francis said.