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Pope Francis expressed sadness and shame today, in response to a report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in France. The report estimated that hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the French Church over the past 70 years. Pope Francis said he felt pain for the trauma that victims have endured, and shame that the Church had not adequately addressed the crisis.
Missouri executed Ernest Johnson on Tuesday, despite pleas for clemency by the Holy See. The 61-year-old Black man was sentenced to death for murdering three people in the 90s. His lawyers had argued that he was intellectually disabled, and should be spared the death penalty. The Holy See pointed out his humanity, and the sacredness of all human life.
True freedom flows from the Cross of Christ. That was the message of Pope Francis today, during his general audience in Rome. The pope said the Cross of Christ frees us from slavery to sin. He said it is difficult to remain free from sin, but it is possible to make progress during one’s lifetime.
Today, the Church remembers Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian order of monks.