Cindy Wooden is a journalist with Catholic News Service.
SINGAPORE (CNS) — Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship. “A young person who wants only a comfortable life becomes fat,”
The true significance of Singapore's soaring skyscrapers, robust economy and high-tech achievements must be found in the stories of love and care that are behind them, Pope Francis said.
"If there is anything good that exists and endures in this world, it is
Arriving in Singapore from Timor-Leste, Pope Francis made the biggest transition of his 12-day trip to Asia and the Pacific, moving from one of the world's poorest countries to one of its wealthiest and from one of the most youthful to one
While it is tempting to want more money and more power, God works great things through those who know how to make themselves small, Pope Francis told a massive crowd in one of the world's poorest countries.
In a nation of 1.3 million
In Papua New Guinea, the term "wantok" means people who share a language and culture, and that is what Christians should be, Pope Francis said, but only in the sense of sharing the language and culture of love.
Before leaving Papua New Guinea
Building enthusiasm for living and sharing the Christian faith is not a matter of "techniques" but of being joyful and serving others, Pope Francis said.
In an afternoon devoted to the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea Sept. 7, the pope visited with
The faith that sustained the hope of the people of Timor-Leste in their struggle for independence should be a resource now as the country tries to cope with social, economic and environmental problems, Pope Francis said.
Landing in Dili Sept. 9, the pope
God calls Christians to have the courage to be open to faith and to be true neighbors to one another, Pope Francis preached in Papua New Guinea.
"Open yourselves! Open yourselves to the joy of the Gospel; open yourselves to encounter God; open
Not long after Pope Francis left Indonesia, authorities there announced they had arrested seven people for making online "terror threats" against the pope.
Aswin Siregar, spokesman for Densus 88, Indonesia's counter-terrorism police unit, made the announcement Sept. 6 as Pope Francis was on
With a 21-cannon salute, Pope Francis was welcomed to Papua New Guinea Sept. 6, the second stop on his four-nation visit to Asia and the Pacific.
After flying five and a half hours from Jakarta, Indonesia, the 87-year-old pope landed at Jacksons International