Jean-Marc Sauvé, the highly regarded 71-year-old career civil servant and former vice-president of France’s Council of State, told reporters on Tuesday that a June 2020 figure of 3,000 victims “is certainly an underestimate.”  

The statement urged the prompt release of all political prisoners and expressed support for the Catholic Bishops of Myanmar in their pleas to military authorities responsible for the coup d'etat to refrain from violence and seek reconciliation, while respecting democratic principles and human rights, "including the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the freedom of assembly, media and expression."

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg and current President of COMECE, addressed the concluding session of the study day, stressing that Europe's future -- and that of humanity as a whole -- depends on the family, and that the strength of society can be measured by the practice and cultivation of intergenerational solidarity. 

Benedict also offers his thoughts on newly-elected US President Joe Biden, the first Catholic to hold the office since John F. Kennedy in the 1960s.

One of three men accused of assassinating investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta in 2017 has received a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to all charges in connection with his role in the murder. Vincent Muscat had previously entered a Not Guilty plea, but reportedly accepted a plea bargain arrangement with prosecutors. He

Pope Francis sent a telegram on Tuesday evening to Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, offering condolences at the killing of the Italian Ambassador, Luca Attanasio alongside two others, in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.

Myanmar's Catholic bishops have renewed pleas for dialogue in the midst of ongoing unrest. They also reflected on the promise that November elections had inspired, before a military coup d’état earlier this month disrupted national life and sent the country spiralling into crisis.

A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See said the visit lasted about an hour.

A single line from the Press Office of the Holy See announced the news on Saturday morning.

George Spencer (1799–1864), son of the 2nd Earl Spencer, was first an Anglican priest. He converted to Catholicism to become a Catholic priest and eventually became a Passionist, taking the name of Ignatius. he worked tirelessly as a missionary in the service of Christian unity. In decrees signed on Friday, Pope Francis recognised the priest's "heroic virtues" and declared him Venerable. 

"They need to hear from Church leaders like me," Archbishop Martin says, saying also that it is “no wonder" so many victims of abuse find it difficult to forgive or to trust the Church.

Dr Myriam Wijlens, a canon law professor at the University of Erfurt and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told Vatican News the work of the Commission has recently focused on "balancing Confidentiality, Transparency and Accountability”.