On Saturday, the 87-year-old pope delegated the reading of a speech at a ceremony to an aide, and on Wednesday, he made a brief trip to a Rome hospital after he missed reading at his weekly audience, saying he had "a bit of cold".

"Each day I carry in my heart with pain the suffering of the populations in Palestine and Israel due to the ongoing hostilities, thousands of dead, injured, displaced," Francis said, speaking by himself with a clear voice at the Angelus prayer in Rome.

Addressing believers in St Peter's Square, Francis stressed the consequences of the conflict on children and asked for the release of all the hostages taken in Hamas' Oct 7 raid.

Read More

This binary choice presents for the faithful a "crossroads," the pope argued. But in the characterisation of unwavering trust in the Lord, the pope noted that while there are risks and trepidation about the uncertainty of what may come, trust gives freedom to act.

"But much of how we invest them depends on our trust in the Lord, which frees our hearts, makes us active and creative in goodness. Trust frees, fear paralyses. Fear blocks, trust unblocks our abilities. And it gladdens the heart of the Father, who rejoices at seeing his children who do not fear him but who love him," the pope said.

Read More

The Holy Father made this observation during his Sunday Angelus address at noon to the faithful in St Peter's Square and following from afar.

He reflected on today's Gospel passage according to St Matthew. He also underscored that we belong to the Lord and not any earthly power.

The Gospel reading tells of Pharisees who join with the Herodians "to set a trap for Jesus," the Pope recalled.

They go to Him and ask: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (Mt 22:17). It is a ruse: if Jesus legitimises the tax, He places Himself on the side of a political power that is ill-supported by the people, whereas if He says not to pay it, He can be accused of rebellion against the empire.

Read More

Addressing pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square Nov 7 for his Sunday Angelus address, the pope warned the faithful to be on guard "against hypocrisy, which is a dangerous illness of the soul."

"This is a warning for all time and for everyone, church and society: to never take advantage of a specific role to crush others, never to make money off the backs of the weakest!" he exclaimed.

After praying the Angelus prayer, the pope expressed concerns over increasing violence in Ethiopia amid reports that Tigray Defense Force rebels were approaching the outskirts of the country's capital, Addis Ababa.

Read More