On March 21, Pope Francis visited the Roman office of Scholas Occurrentes. Founded by the future Pope Francis in 2001, the group seeks to “educate young people in the commitment for the common good” and to “implement the culture of the meeting for peace through education.”

“In our time, in fact, increasingly often prevention and treatment become the prerogative of those who enjoy a certain standard of living, and therefore can afford it,” Pope Francis told members of the Italian Federation of Primary Care Pediatricians. “I encourage you to work to ensure that this inequality is not added to the many others that already afflict the weakest, but rather that the health system assure assistance and preventative care to all, as rights of the person.”

Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, the apostolic nuncio, has taken part in talks between Daniel Ortega’s regime and the opposition. At an earlier point in the talks, he spoke of “more lies and less trust.”

“Standard psychological testing, it’s not very good in ferreting out sexual difficulties among the general population,” said Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, former head of the Saint Luke Institute in Maryland, in an article that first appeared in the Washington Post. “We’ve been working hard to figure out what to do, how do we better understand sexuality.”

Catholicism is the state religion of the Mediterranean nation of 449,000 (map). Church-state collaboration, European integration, and migration were among the issues that Pope Francis and Vatican officials discussed with President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

At least eight cardinals attended a Georgetown University conference devoted to “integral ecology: a synodal response from the Amazon and other essential biomes / territories for the care of our common home.” Archbishop Bernardito Auza, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, emphasized the Holy See’s commitment to indigenous persons.

The clear will of God is the light and the salvation of all men. No one can desire anything good unless God desires it. Even the best of intentions, even seemingly worthy projects, are no good if they are not God's will at the moment. Distress, suffering, even death, can be accepted as His mysterious will. His creative love is always at work drawing the greatest possible good out of everything. Be the humble servant of God's will and you will be truly wise and always at peace.

“We are all architects of the future,” said Pope Francis in a message to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, released for the observance of World Water Day. “Water is an essential good for the balances of ecosystems and human survival, and it is necessary to manage it and take care of it so that it is not contaminated or lost.”

A crucifix that had hung in Montreal’s city hall since 1937 has been removed. “I think we’re in a very different time now,” explained Mayor Valerie Plante.