“Circumstances of a person’s birth should not determine the respect for one’s inherent God-given dignity or the opportunities an individual is able to access,” Archbishop Christophe El-Kassis said.

The government has debated expanding its medical assistance in dying program for those suffering solely from mental health issues.

Opening a Vatican meeting marking 10 years since Amoris Laetitia, the pope said the Church must learn from families marked by hardship, loneliness, and fragility.

Dominican Sister Helen Alford, a prominent social scientist, addressed a Vatican conference on the 10th anniversary of the controversial document.

Father Ignacio Larrañaga was described as a mystic “who, through his warm words and profound contemplative experience, taught millions of people how to pray and live in intimacy with the Father.”

Jonathan Reyes will serve as FOCUS’ next chief executive officer, effective Nov. 16.

The meeting brought together the first American-born pope and one of the country’s best-known Catholic evangelists, both with deep roots in Illinois.

The pontiff held a private audience on Wednesday with a group of Vatican Museum patrons.

Leo also recalled the Oct. 7 liturgical memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary and emphasized the importance of this traditional Marian prayer.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe and Bishop Tim Norton apologized to the victims as the former bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.