Those who believe they are upholding the faith by pointing their finger at others may have a certain ‘religiosity,’ but they have not embraced the spirit of the Gospel, Pope Francis has said, during a visit to the island of Malta last week.

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.

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 addressed the people from his studio window overlooking Saint Peter’s Square on 8 August, as he led the Angelus. His message – that Without Christ, Christians could only “get by” because He is the only one who can nourish their souls and He is the only one who can “forgive us from that evil that we cannot overcome on our own.” By Junno Arocho Esteves, CNS.

Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus as he arrives to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in this Dec. 24, 2019, file photo. The pope will celebrate the traditional Christmas Eve Mass with a small congregation, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Rome so people can get home without breaking Italy’s 10 p.m. COVID-19 curfew.