VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis continues to show small signs of improvement and spends his days following through on all his therapies, doing some light work and praying, according to the Vatican press office.

"His medical condition remains stable with some small improvements" regarding his mobility and breathing capacity, it said in an evening briefing.

The pope is following a daily regime made up of pharmacological, respiratory and physical therapies, which are yielding positive results, the press office said March 21. He has not needed nighttime mechanical ventilation through a mask after it was suspended the night of March 17-18, it said March 21. Instead, he has been receiving high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight.

The press office also noted as a positive sign that the 88-year-old pope is maintaining a reduced need for the "high-flow oxygen therapy" through a nasal tube during the day.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told reporters a "new stage" of the pontificate has begun.

"He is the man of surprises, right?" he told reporters during a book presentation in Rome March 21.  

Since the pope was hospitalized Feb. 14 for respiratory difficulty and infections, "Surely he will have learned many things this past month and who knows what will come forth?" he said.

Even knowing that this has been difficult and very burdensome for him, he said, "I know that it will be fruitful for the church and for the world."

Asked whether the pope would be out of the hospital in time for Easter April 20, the cardinal said, "he could be back, but the doctors want to be 100% sure and they prefer to wait a bit longer."

It's a well-known fact that the pope "wants to give it his all," Cardinal Fernández said, and that "the little time he has left he wants to use, not nursing himself."

The cardinal has not been among the very few people who have been able to visit the pope, but he said the pope is now doing "very well" physically, "almost as he was before his illness."

However, as is often the case with patients who have had to be on additional oxygen, they have to "learn how to talk again," that is, regain the strength of their voice.

The pope's doctors, citing his "gradual" improvement, stopped providing daily medical bulletins March 6, the same evening the Vatican released a very brief audio message from Pope Francis thanking people for their prayers.

The last medical bulletin from the pope's doctors was March 19, and the one before that was published March 15, although the Vatican press office continued to provide news each day about the pope's progress and activities in the hospital.

However, because the pope's condition was consistently improving, the press office did not issue a statement March 20 and did not plan to provide any over the weekend -- March 22 and 23. The next medical bulletin was not expected before March 24.

Father Armando Nugnes, rector of the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome, led the evening recitation of the rosary for the pope's health, a recitation that began Feb. 24.

WASHINGTON - In response to the Executive Order signed today by President Trump, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offered the following statement from its spokesperson, Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs:

“While the USCCB does not take a position on the institutional structure of government agencies, the Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and should have the freedom and resources to choose an educational setting best suited for their child. The Conference supports public policies that affirm this, and we support the positive working relationships that the dioceses, parishes, and independent schools have with their local public school system partners. As this Executive Order is implemented, it is important to ensure that students of all backgrounds in both public and non-public schools, especially those with disabilities or from low-income backgrounds, will continue to receive the resources they need.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church needs to expand its safeguarding efforts to include the new threats and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, top organizers of a Vatican conference said.

"We are really currently in a war" on two fronts when it comes to protecting children from abuse and mistreatment, Joachim von Braun, president of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, said at a Vatican news conference March 20.

There is the traditional battleground that most safeguarding guidelines and policies address: protecting minors from "one-on-one" exploitation by a perpetrator in their environment at home, school, church, society and online, he said. But the new frontier is where AI and gender-based violence have come together in very sophisticated ways and "at scale" that is, where the crime and its victims are easily and rapidly multiplied, he said.

The church has a role to play, he and other speakers at the conference said. 

The Catholic Church must work with science-based knowledge about AI and "deeply engage in the regulatory debate, otherwise, we cannot win these two wars at two frontiers," von Braun said.

The president of the papal academy and others were presenting a conference organized by the academy with the Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care in Rome and the World Childhood Foundation, founded by Queen Silvia of Sweden to help prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The conference, scheduled for March 20-22 at the Vatican, was to look at the risks and opportunities of AI for children and to come up with a common commitment for safeguarding.

Some of the risks include AI being used to: generate and distribute child sexual abuse material; groom children online; facilitate human trafficking; and infringe on a child's right to privacy and dignity with excessive monitoring, according to the conference program.  

However, AI can also be used to promote the safety and dignity of children as well as expand their access and opportunities in health care and education, the speakers said.

But to do that, they added, there must be greater awareness about AI, clear and consistent regulation by governments and ethical guidelines in AI development.

"Scientists play a key role," said von Braun, a German agricultural scientist specializing in food security. Scientists at corporations or in academia "are writing the algorithms out of which the risks and opportunities result."

Calling on mathematicians and applied computer scientists to follow ethical rules is new, he said. "For centuries, mathematics was considered free of ethical concerns. That's no longer the case." 

Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the papal academy, said church members are already working with AI practitioners and scientists "from Silicon Valley" who come to Rome for the so-called "Minerva dialogues."

These "conversations" focus on the impact of AI so that when experts go back to work, "they will be able to also influence their colleagues in the development of these models" to be more ethical, he said. However, what AI does cannot be left only in the hands of industry, and governments must address the use of AI, too.

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology, said there has long been a "lack of consistency in policy making and in the engagement of tech companies that make enormous mountains of money but don't invest in the safety of young people as much as they could and should."

"The church has an important part to play in this," he said, "even with all the history of abuse that has been going on in the church."

"We also have our moral and ethical responsibility to raise our voice and to point out where governments and tech companies fail" to come up with consistent and meaningful rules or guidelines, the Jesuit priest said.

Von Braun said that because advancements in AI are moving at lightning speed, each national bishops' conference should have "an AI council of scientists and practitioners from their respective country so that they have evidence-based advice in this extremely dynamic field."

These councils could function like the pontifical academies, which invite experts to provide their findings and recommendations to the pope, he said. The church should "build such an architecture in order to not only track but to influence the AI risks" and become open to opportunities. 

Father Zollner said the Catholic Church "has a unique convening power" that can bring "together the key players that need to sit around one table because this artificial intelligence and child dignity in the digital world are way beyond the capacities and the competencies of one player alone."

Britta Holmberg, deputy secretary general of the World Childhood Foundation, said prevention starts with speaking clearly about how common child abuse is. "One in five girls and one in seven boys globally are affected by child sexual abuse. They are among us."

"We also know that technology is part of the problem, but it needs also to be part of the solution," for example, by utilizing new technologies to reach out to those who are most at risk, she said. 

Partnering with the tech companies "is really crucial," she said, "because we know that the people who want to abuse or misuse technology, they will always find a way."

Those who "develop tech understand the problems, understand how it can be misused," she said, so they can help those who are trying to "introduce safeguards early on."

Because the church is influential and its leaders are role models, she said, Catholics must "speak up" and increase awareness about AI's risks and possibilities. "Just choosing to not do something because it's scary" will have consequences.

Queen Silvia, 81, "serves as an example for all of us that you are not too old, we're not too little tech savvy to care about AI" and seek ways it can help protect children, Holmberg said. 
 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis no longer needs the "noninvasive mechanical ventilation" he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing "crisis" Feb. 28, his doctors reported in a bulletin released by the Vatican press office March 19.

"The Holy Father's clinical condition is confirmed to be improving," the bulletin said.

In addition to discontinuing the nightly use of the ventilation, the doctors said the 88-year-old pope also has a reduced need for the "high-flow oxygen therapy" through a nasal tube that he had been using during the day.

The Vatican press office had said Pope Francis had spent the night of March 17-18 without needing the ventilation through a mask. Instead, it had said, the pope received high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight.

The pope, who has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, also continues to make progress in his physical therapy and his respiratory therapy, the bulletin said.

Pope Francis was able to concelebrate Mass in the chapel of his suite at Rome's Gemelli hospital for the March 19 feast of St. Joseph, one of his favorite saints and the 12th anniversary of the solemn inauguration of his pontificate, the bulletin said.

The Vatican press office said the pope's double pneumonia and infections were "under control," with his blood counts within the normal range and no episodes of fever. 

No estimate has been made for how long the pope will remain in the hospital, and the Vatican press office said no decisions have been made regarding the Vatican celebrations of Palm Sunday April 13 nor of Holy Week and Easter.

The pope's doctors, citing his "gradual" improvement, stopped providing daily medical bulletins March 6, the same evening the Vatican released a very brief audio message from Pope Francis thanking people for their prayers.

Before the bulletin March 19, the last news from the doctors was published March 15, although the Vatican press office continued to provide news each day about the pope's progress and activities in the hospital.

Apparently satisfied that his condition was consistently improving, even the press office did not plan to issue a statement March 20 and said a medical bulletin was not expected before March 24.

Earlier March 19, the Vatican released the catechesis prepared for Pope Francis' weekly general audience as well as his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The text of the message was dated that day at Rome's Gemelli hospital. But neither text mentioned his illness.

The evening recitation of the rosary for the pope's health, a recitation that began Feb. 24, continued March 19, when it was led by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Roman Rota.
 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Amid widespread uncertainty and social fragmentation, Pope Francis urged young people to embrace their vocation as "pilgrims of hope," offering their lives generously in service to others and as a response to God's love.

Every vocation in the church -- to ordained ministry, consecrated life or life as a layperson -- " is a sign of God's hope for the world and for each of his children," the pope wrote in his message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations to be observed May 11.

"A vocation is a precious gift that God sows in the heart," the pope wrote. "It is a call to go out of ourselves and begin a journey of love and service."

The Vatican released the pope's message, titled "Pilgrims of Hope: The Gift of Life," March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. Pope Francis said the theme reflects the need for Christians, especially youth, to live their faith courageously amid economic, social and spiritual challenges.

"In our time, many young people feel lost about the future," he wrote. "They often experience uncertainty about job prospects and, more profoundly, an identity crisis, which is also a crisis of meaning and values."

Pope Francis said these struggles are often worsened by the "confusion" of digital culture and the violence of war and injustice; yet God remains present, calling each person by name and inviting them to live with purpose.

The pope also urged adult members of the church, especially pastors, to accompany young people in discerning their vocation.

"We are called to welcome, discern and accompany the vocational journey of new generations," he said, adding that youth must be "co-protagonists with the Holy Spirit, who stirs in them the desire to make their lives a gift of love."

Discerning one's vocation, however, is not an isolated process but takes place within the Christian community, through prayer, reflection and service, he said, encouraging young people to seek silence and space for contemplation in order to listen to God's call.

"The world pushes you to make hurried decisions and fills your days with noise," he wrote. "Have the courage to stop, to listen within, and to ask God what he dreams for you."

Reflecting on the lives of young saints, including St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Dominic Savio, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Pope Francis said their lives show how a vocation is not about self-affirmation but about love and service to others. Blessed Frassati was set to be canonized August 3, 2025, during the Jubilee of Young People.

"Many young people are seeking to know the path that God is calling them to take," he said. "Some discover -- often with surprise -- a vocation to (the) priesthood or consecrated life; others discover the beauty of the call to marriage and family life or to public service and the witness of faith among colleagues and friends."

Vocations, he added, must be lived with hope and trust in God's providence. "Hope in God does not disappoint," he said. "The world needs young people who are pilgrims of hope, courageous in dedicating their lives to Christ and joyful in being his missionary disciples."

The pope also called for continued prayer and support for vocations within the church. 

"The church is alive and fruitful when it generates new vocations," he said. "And the world, often without realizing it, seeks witnesses of hope who proclaim with their lives that following Christ is a source of joy."

The World Day of Prayer for Vocations is observed annually on the fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and it invites the global church to pray for and support those discerning a call to serve God and others.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent the night without a breathing mask, the Vatican press office said March 18, indicating that his need for supplemental oxygen continues to diminish. 

The pope received high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight, it said, a change from the noninvasive mechanical ventilation he had been using since he had a breathing crisis Feb. 28. He has been hospitalized since Feb. 14.

The decision to forgo overnight mechanical ventilation aligns with a medical plan to "progressively reduce" the 88-year-old pope's supplemental oxygen intake, the press office said, though it does not mean he will no longer use it at night.

Pope Francis has been alternating between high-flow and normal-flow oxygen during the day, and doctors had already been reducing the number of hours he uses mechanical ventilation at night. During brief periods, the pope could go without supplemental oxygen entirely, the press office had said the previous day.

A photo released by the Vatican March 16 showed the pope without a nasal tube.

On March 18, the pope dedicated himself to prayer, work activities and therapy prescribed by his doctors, the press office said. He continues to follow a prescribed diet that "also consists of solid food," it added.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a church court, was scheduled to lead the recitation of the rosary in St. Peter's Square for the pope's health.

While the Vatican has given no indication of when the pope might be released from the hospital, Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla confirmed that they plan to meet with Pope Francis in early April.

The British Embassy to the Holy See released Buckingham Palace's itinerary for the royals' state visit March 18, which includes an audience with Pope Francis April 8.

ROME (CNS) -- Imagine being able to explore all of St. Peter's Basilica, its artistic masterpieces and the saint's underground tomb as well as interact with its caretakers and archeologists to learn more about the world's largest church and even have a go at restoring it -- virtually, that is, and in the 3-D blocky world of Minecraft.

Students around the world now have a chance to be an explorer-restorer of the 519-year-old basilica thanks to a new online educational opportunity created by Minecraft Education, Microsoft's game-based learning platform, and with the help of St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican City State.

"Peter is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage" is a new interactive game released worldwide March 18.

"It invites students and children to explore one of the most compelling stories: the history of the basilica," and "to try their hand at restoration challenges and discover how cultural heritage and modern innovation intersect," Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato, president of the Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children, told reporters at a news conference at the foreign press club in Rome March 18.

Players use simulated AI-enabled "scanners" -- like real preservationists use -- to inspect key elements of the basilica and square outside to discover what needs repair and problem-solve with others to decide the best approach to take. 

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, said they chose the release date of March 18, the vigil of the feast of St. Joseph, because of the saint's role as an educator "par excellence of the son of God" and to place the game under his patronage.

The game's emphasis on learning about the basilica's past, the significance and meaning of its sacred spaces and collaboration means kids can "experience with others building and winning together in the spirit of fraternity," he said.

The accuracy and level of detail of the basilica, which covers nearly six acres, was facilitated by the creation of an AI-enhanced, 3-D "digital twin" of the basilica last November. Microsoft's "AI for Good" lab used AI to stitch together almost half a million high-resolution images of St. Peter's Basilica, creating a realistic replica people can visit online and helping restorers pinpoint previously unseen problems and places needing repair. 

That immersive experience, geared toward adults, aims to allow people worldwide to "visit" and learn about the basilica, its history, beauty and spiritual significance.

So, recreating the basilica in Minecraft as an educational journey "represents a natural and important extension, another big step forward, because this is the way we take this wonderful institution, the culture, the religion, the heritage, and we put it into the hands of children in every country around the world," Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, said in a recorded video. 

Middle school students at Rome's Jesuit-run Massimiliano Massimo Institute were on hand at the news conference, demonstrating the game which starts off as "mission-based" with several tasks to restore the basilica with the help of the basilica's "sanpietrini," as the church's specialized artisans and workers are known. 

Once the tasks are completed, players are free to explore the open world, find and collect items and interact with historic figures, such as Michelangelo, who was appointed to oversee the design and construction of the basilica, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was its official architect and who designed the immense baldachin over the main altar.

Virginia and Vittoria, both 11, told Catholic News Service they have never visited the basilica "in real life," even though they live in and grew up in Rome. In a city with countless artistic and historical landmarks to visit, family and school field trips somehow missed that one icon, they said.

They will be visiting as part of the school's pilgrimage to the Holy Door for the Holy Year and the game was a great way to get an idea what is in store, Vittoria said. 

"Now I'm looking forward to seeing (the basilica). Its history is very interesting," which was fun to learn because they get to go back in time, Virginia said.

Designed for students aged 8-18, the platform includes workbooks and resources for students and teachers in both public and Catholic schools or communities and for parents who homeschool. Every student also receives a certificate in Latin after completing the 45-60-minute game, recognizing them as honorary preservers of this cultural heritage site.

"Peter is Here" is available for all licensed users in the Minecraft Education lesson library and trial versions are free to download by logging in with Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Education accounts.

WASHINGTON – “Since the launch of Walking with Moms in Need, Catholics in dioceses and parishes across the country have put the Gospel of Life into action,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. 

Bishop Thomas offered the following update for the 5th anniversary of Walking with Moms in Need:

“This year, beginning on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we celebrate both the thirtieth anniversary of Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life), St. John Paul II’s pro-life encyclical, and the fifth anniversary of Walking with Moms in Need, which was inspired by that landmark encyclical.

“Since the launch of Walking with Moms in Need, Catholics in dioceses and parishes across the country have put the Gospel of Life into action, uniting in a shared mission to surround pregnant and parenting mothers in need with loving support and personal accompaniment. Heroic volunteers have stepped forward to make our parishes places where a mother can be connected with meaningful resources and assistance and, most importantly, know that she and her baby are not alone.

“The Annunciation reminds us that our Lord Jesus came to earth as a vulnerable child in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Catholic faith calls us to value every mother and child in the name of Christ. Our faith compels us to be active, making the needs of others our own. Every parish has something unique that God is calling them to contribute to the Church’s efforts to transform our society into a culture of life and civilization of love.

“Please join me in praying that Walking with Moms in Need will continue to become embedded in the very fabric of every parish and diocese as a natural expression of Jesus’s call to serve the most vulnerable. May every mother know that she can turn to her local Catholic parish for help in her time of need.”

Bishop Thomas’ video reflection may be found here. Please visit walkingwithmoms.com to find out how your parish can walk with moms in need in your community.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Hundreds of pilgrims from the United States gathered for Mass at the majestic Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica with two main intentions in mind: the health of Pope Francis and the needs of their loved ones at home.

In early March, the bishops of Pittsburgh and of San Bernardino, California, led official diocesan pilgrimages for the Holy Year 2025. For the Mass March 17 at the Vatican, they were joined by groups from St. Agnes School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and several others, filling all the pews and many plastic chairs as well. 

Pittsburgh Auxiliary Bishop Mark A. Eckman gave the homily at the Mass, focusing on the Lenten call to conversion and the Jubilee Year gift of an indulgence, which is the remission of the temporal punishment due for one's sins.

"A lot of times, people don't understand what an indulgence is," the bishop said, but basically it is a way "to eliminate that time that we are to spend in purgatory."

Often people think that "if I go to confession, that's it. It's a done deal," the bishop said. But "confession, when we are absolved by the priest, it says that we are not going to hell, but it does not say we are getting to heaven right away; we are going to get there, but there might be a delay, depending upon whatever type of sins we had."

The indulgence removes the delay, he said. And "we know that eventually, whenever our time is done, we are going to be in God's presence where there is only joy and love and happiness. So that is why we try to do our best each day to live out our life following the Lord's commandments, being the people of love that he has asked us to be." 

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino concelebrated the Mass and afterward led his pilgrims on the long procession to the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Jubilee pilgrimage, he said, "is a special time of grace, a time to remember who we are as Catholic Christians," and "to pray for the people back home -- so many people have asked us to pray for them."

The groups originally were scheduled to attend Pope Francis' weekly general audience March 19, the feast of St. Joseph and the 12th anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Francis' pontificate.

Bishop Rojas said not being able to see the pope, who has been hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14, is a disappointment, but the pilgrims intend to come back to the Vatican anyway and pray for him. 

Araceli Villarreal, one of the pilgrims, said missing the pope "is so sad, but it is best that he get better" rather than hurry back to the Holy Year pilgrims.

The group spent March 16 in L'Aquila, Italy, celebrating Mass at the Basilica of San Bernardino, the burial place of the 15th-century namesake of their diocese. The Franciscans who staff the basilica gave the diocese a relic of the saint.

"The connection with the local community and the friars there was a moving experience and very unexpected," said Michelle Clark, another of the pilgrims.

She was traveling with her 22-year-old son, Matthew, who works with his father building churches in the diocese.

After saying he particularly liked the Gothic cathedral in Orvieto, north of Rome, and while looking at St. Peter's Basilica, he said, "this is far beyond what we are doing."

His mother noted, however, that most of the churches they have visited on pilgrimage took hundreds of years to build and embellish in such a way that every detail "glorifies God."
 

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, 80, from the Office of Bishop of Camden. Bishop Joseph A. Williams, up until now coadjutor bishop of the same diocese, will assume pastoral governance of the diocese.

The announcement was publicized in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Williams’ biography may be found here.

The Diocese of Camden is comprised of 2,691 square miles in the State of New Jersey and has a total population of 1,417,548 of which 304,999, are Catholic.

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