By means of policies and regulations, lawmakers can protect human dignity from whatever may threaten it. Those were the words of Pope Francis who spoke to members and representatives of the International Catholic Legislators Network, who were in Rome for an annual conference, on 27 August.

The volunteering spirit is alive and well in Willetton where John Paul Care gardening volunteers Elisabeth and Neil Macpherson have been helping their community for nearly 30 years.

“Have I visited my grandparents, my elderly relatives, the older people in my neighborhood? Have I listened to them? Have I spent time with them?” Pope Francis has said Sunday 25 July in his homily marking the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

Pope Francis has restored limits on the celebration of the Mass according to the Roman Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council.

Pilgrims and well-wishers gathered at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis as he made his first public appearance in a week after undergoing intestinal surgery, appearing on the 10th-floor balcony of his suite of rooms at the hospital on 11 July.

While the suffering brought on by the coronavirus pandemic continues to make headlines, Pope Francis has recently highlighted another serious illness plaguing today’s world that deserves attention.

Writing to vulnerable Catholics, Pope Francis said that God is close to them and still has plans for their lives. “I was called to become the bishop of Rome when I had reached, so to speak, retirement age, and thought I would not be doing anything new,” said the pope, in conjunction with World Day for Grandparents and the elderly. By Cindy Wooden, CNS

Melbourne priests Msgr Anthony Ireland and Fr Martin Ashe, have last week been appointed as new Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Melbourne by Pope Francis.

Abuse against a minor is a kind of “psychological murder” that can destroy the victim’s childhood, Pope Francis has said.

Pope Francis is preparing to formally institute the “ministry of catechist”.