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The death penalty is an affront to human dignity that offers no solace to victims and denies the possibility for conversion of those who commit serious crimes, Pope Francis said.

The Diocese of Trier transferred alleged or convicted perpetrators of abuse to new locations in and outside the diocese, where they reoffended against young people and children, said an independent commission's interim report on abuse in the diocese from 1946 to 2021.

Christian humility implies placing one's desire to maintain appearances or selfish interests aside and instead putting the well-being of others first, said Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego.

“God in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.”

Pope Francis will lead a number of major events at the end of August, starting with the creation of 20 new cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica.

Standing alongside a banner reading “Dignity Not Detention” Aug. 9, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said that despite the world’s moral complexities, “any time that there is a policy or law that has such a detrimental effect upon families, that it’s wrong.”

Director Ron Howard provides an understated chronicle of heroic real-life events in the absorbing dramatization “Thirteen Lives” (MGM/Amazon Prime). While a bit of off-color dialogue precludes endorsement for young viewers, the value of the film’s portrait of humanity at its best makes it acceptable for older adolescents.

The social strife that roiled Spain, both during the 19th century and in the lead-up to that nation’s tragic 1936-39 civil war, serves as the background for the biography “Slaves and Kings” (Bosco). This chronicle of the varied life of St. Anthony Mary Claret (Antonio Reyes) is framed by research about him carried out in the Depression era, 60 years after his 1870 death at age 62.