Cindy Wooden

"Technological progress is part of God's plan for creation," the Vatican said, but people must take responsibility for using technologies like artificial intelligence to help humanity and not harm individuals or groups.

"The horror of the extermination of millions of Jews and people of other faiths" before and during World War II "can neither be forgotten nor denied," Pope Francis said.

Celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church's willingness to accept a proposal for a common date for celebrating Easter in the West and the East.

While calling himself an “old man” and saying he never expected to be Pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the future.

"It's quite an honour for her to be here with the likes of St. Oscar Romero," Tom Stang said after a relic of his sister was placed on an altar in Rome alongside a relic of the martyred archbishop from El Salvador.

Pope Francis has appointed Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla to be the first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery, naming her prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Thirteen Catholic "missionaries" were killed in 2024, most of them during the commission of a robbery, but several obviously were targeted for the church work they did.

God wants to save each and every person, and Christians are called to give witness to that fact by praying even for people who have harmed them, Pope Francis said.

Celebrating Christmas Mass after opening the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis said the birth of Jesus fills Christians with hope and the courage to work for peace and justice.

In the quiet of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, launching what he called a "Jubilee of Hope."