News from the Vatican

Conversion means believing that God became flesh to make all things new and offer his kingdom to everyone, said Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, offering the first meditation of Lent for leaders of the Roman Curia and Vatican employees.

A month after reading an interview in the Vatican newspaper with Edith Bruck, an author and Holocaust survivor, Pope Francis decided to pay her a visit at her home in the center of Rome.

Christians must never engage in dialogue with the devil, but instead must fight against temptations with the same spiritual weapons Jesus used in the desert, Pope Francis said.

Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, speaks to Vatican Radio about the Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse, which many bishops' conferences observe on the first Friday of Lent.

Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Cardinal Robert Sarah as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

As Perseverance, the latest probe on Mars, gears up to send to Earth high-definition images, video and audio of its surroundings, one papal astronomer said he hoped the fresh new discoveries will inspire future explorers.

As many churches in different countries prepare to mark a Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse, an interview with Dr Myriam Wijlens, a professor in canon law and member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, highlights the ongoing work of the Church to ensure the safety and the protection and dignity of all.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing security concerns, Pope Francis is determined to visit Iraq to pay homage to Christian and other minorities persecuted for their faith and to strengthen the commitment of the overwhelming majority of Iraqi Muslims to creating a future of peace and harmony.

As the COVID-19 pandemic nears its first full year, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments reminded bishops that the guidelines it issued last year for celebrating the Holy Week and Easter liturgies would still be valid this year.

Lent is a time to reconsider the path one is taking in life and to finally answer God's invitation to return to him with one's whole heart, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis hopes to embark on the first-ever papal visit to the biblical land of Iraq in early March in a spiritual pilgrimage of sorts to the place known in Arabic as the "land of the two rivers" -- the mighty Tigris and Euphrates -- and once renowned as Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization."

Pope Francis approved a number of changes to Vatican City State's penal code and criminal justice proceedings, including the possibilities of reduced sentences, rehabilitation programs and community service sentencing, as well as no longer allowing trials "in absentia."

The Gospel story of Jesus healing the leper illustrates how nothing will stop God from tenderly and compassionately drawing close to people who want to be healed and saved, Pope Francis said.

When Pope Francis met with a Catholic News Service delegation marking the agency's 100th anniversary, he encouraged the agency to continue to foster dialogue and honest communication.

The largest Syriac Catholic congregation in the world is preparing physically and spiritually for Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Qaraqosh, Iraq.

The only ethical and practical response to the coronavirus pandemic is solidarity, not competition -- including when it comes to the vaccines, said a priest working on the Vatican COVID-19 Commission.