Carol Glatz

"New challenges in preventing and combating human trafficking affecting children have emerged," particularly as traffickers are using the Internet "to advertise and sell children online for sexual exploitation and to distribute child sexual abuse material," said Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino, international coordinator for the international network, Talitha Kum.

The Vatican Secretariat of State sent a formal statement to the French Embassy to the Holy See reaffirming that Pope Francis had sent a top Vatican official to investigate a French religious congregation and warning that interference by a French civil court in an internal church matter could be a "serious violation" of religious freedom.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of 59-year-old Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar, India, who was acquitted last year on charges of raping a nun but may face further legal action since the nun has appealed the verdict.

Many Christians who died for the faith did so not because they were denied the freedom to worship, but because they were living out their faith and defending freedom, justice and truth, Pope Francis said.

A Comboni nun was killed in the attack in a mission in the city of Chipene in the province of Nampula in northern Mozambique, which took place on the night between Sept. 6 and Sept. 7.

Produced by the Knights of Columbus, "Mother Teresa: No Greater Love," had its Vatican premiere Aug. 31, ahead of its release to more than 900 theaters Oct. 3 and 4.

In a short handwritten note sent to Sr. Teresina Longo, mother superior of a religious institute hosting Ukrainian orphans evacuated to Italy, Pope Francis said he was praying for them and for Our Lady's intercession.

The global network of women religious fighting human trafficking was offering a virtual tour of its work helping survivors as a way to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

French Salesian Sr. Yvonne Reungoat told Vida Nueva, a Spanish publication reporting news about the Catholic Church, that "the ideal bishop does not exist." But he has to be a shepherd who is "close to the people entrusted to him, he has to know how to involve priests, laity and religious, and people of different generations."

The Christian vocation is for all members of the church to work together and show that one human family united in love is not a utopia but is the reason God created humanity, Pope Francis said.

The pope's message, released by the Vatican on May 4, was sent to participants in an international conference in Rome May 4-5. The gathering was dedicated to discussing ways to protect, evaluate and manage the cultural heritage of communities of consecrated life.

People facing a humanitarian crisis need material assistance and they need experts committed to protecting their human rights, said Comboni Sister Gabriella Bottani.

Consecrated men and women are ready to give up everything to follow Christ, but "it's so easily abused and exploited."

Pope Francis commended the beatification of Sr. Maria Laura Mainetti, a 60-year-old member of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross who was brutally murdered on June 6, 2000 in northern Italy.

Leaders from dozens of religious orders dedicated to providing health care services and residential homes for elderly and disabled people reaffirmed their commitment to continue serving the most vulnerable as the global pandemic continues.

A more inclusive attitude and a cooperative approach that includes women are needed for the future of the church and society, said a number of Vatican officials.

For economic policies and systems to promote an end to human trafficking, they must care about people, their dignity and working conditions, and they must be regulated in ways that promote social justice, not special interests, Pope Francis said.

Religious sisters have launched a global movement to overhaul the way religious orders practice their "charism of care" for orphaned or abandoned children.

The abuse occurring within women's religious orders deserves more attention from the media and must be remedied, said an influential Jesuit journal.