Tears and not words. Prayers and not greetings. During his trip to Poland for World Youth Day, Pope Francis will go to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. He said he wants to go alone and say nothing. When Pope Francis speaks, he can delight fans and frustrate critics. He can wax poetic or be bluntly funny about human quirks. But in the face of great suffering and horror, his first and strongest inclinations are silence, a profoundly bowed head and hands clasped tightly in prayer. Pope Francis had asked that there be no speeches during his visit to Armenia's genocide memorial June 25. At times, even the prayer service there with the Armenian Apostolic patriarch seemed too wordy. An aide gently cupped his elbow when it was time to end the silent reflection and begin the service. The Vatican's schedule for the pope's visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau July 29 had him giving a speech at the international monument at Birkenau, just as St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI did. But on the flight back to Rome from Armenia, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Pope Francis, "I heard that you want to live that moment more with silence than words." The pope responded by reminding reporters that in 2014 when he went to Redipuglia in northern Italy to mark the 100th anniversary of World War I, "I went in silence," walking alone among the graves. "Then there was the Mass and I preached at Mass, but that was something else." Speaking about his planned visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, "I would like to go to that place of horror without speeches, without crowds -- only the few people necessary," he said. "Alone, enter, pray. And may the Lord give me the grace to cry." Father Lombardi confirmed June 30 that the official program had been changed and the pope would not give a speech at the death camp. But it is not that Pope Francis has nothing to say about the horror of the Shoah, the importance of remembering it and the need to continue fighting anti-Semitism. "The past must be a lesson to us for the present and the future," he said during a visit to Rome's synagogue. "The Shoah teaches us that maximum vigilance is always needed in order to intervene quickly in defense of human dignity and peace."

Here is a question that I have been pondering recently. Are the journalists of today trained to insert their own opinion into each story they write? Has the idea of journalistic integrity gone the way of murder being acceptable to society? A report asked Pope Francis the following question, "In the days following the shooting in Orlando, many have said that the Christian community had something to do with this hate toward these people. What do you think?" The beginning of his response follows. "I will repeat what I said on my first trip. I repeat what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: that they must not be discriminated against, that they must be respected and accompanied pastorally. One can condemn, but not for theological reasons, but for reasons of political behavior...Certain manifestations are a bit too offensive for others, no? ... But these are things that have nothing to do with the problem. The problem is a person that has a condition, that has good will and who seeks God, who are we to judge? And we must accompany them well...this is what the catechism says, a clear catechism. Then there are traditions in some countries, in some cultures that have a different mentality on this problem. I think that the Church must not only ask forgiveness – like that “Marxist Cardinal” said (laughs) – must not only ask forgiveness to the gay person who is offended. But she must ask forgiveness to the poor too, to women who are exploited, to children who are exploited for labor. She must ask forgiveness for having blessed so many weapons. The Church must ask forgiveness for not behaving many times – when I say the Church, I mean Christians! The Church is holy, we are sinners!" Nothing has been redacted or rewritten. Now think about how this response has been presented. It appears we need to pray for truth from our journalists today. God give them wisdom and morals that allow them to do their job ethically.

Like Moses before the burning bush, those talking about the real-life situations of families must take off their sandals because they are standing on holy ground, Pope Francis said. The pastoral care of families requires "a climate of respect capable of helping us listen to what God is saying," the pope said June 16, opening the Diocese of Rome's annual pastoral conference. The families, catechists, priests and bishops participating in the two-day meeting were focusing this year on outreach to families in Rome in light of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"). In the question-and-answer session, he assured participants that his exhortation was thoroughly reviewed by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, a respected theologian. The document, he said, fully conforms to Catholic doctrine, but some people "want doctrine that is mathematically precise. That does not exist!" "Truth is found in neither strictness nor laxity," the pope said. "The Gospel teaches something different: welcome, accompany, discern, integrate." A priest must listen to each family, ask questions that help the person reflect and grow, but "not sticking his nose into every detail" of the couple's life, the pope said. "Morality is always an act of love, love for God and for one's neighbor, he said. "And it also is an act that leaves room for the conversion of the other." An attitude of superiority, he said, can even lead to "pastoral cruelty," for example when a priest refuses to baptize the baby of an unwed mother. In his formal presentation, Pope Francis said that as the diocesan gathering reflects on the family, participants must keep three things in mind: "the life of each person, the life of every family, must be treated with great respect and great care, especially when reflecting on these things; we must guard against setting up a pastoral plan of ghettos and for ghettos; we must give space to the elderly so they would begin to dream again." The biblical image of the burning bush, Pope Francis said, should be a reminder that "family" is not a theme or a theory, but a reality lived by real people with real joys and sorrows.

Following Saturday night's shooting at a nightclub in Orlando that killed 50 people, Catholic leaders from around the U.S. are offering prayers for the victims and their families. “Waking up to the unspeakable violence in Orlando reminds us of how precious human life is,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Catholic bishops conference, in a statement. “Our prayers are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this terrible act.” In the early hours of June 12, a gunman identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen exchanged fire with a police officer working at Pulse nightclub, which has a predominantly gay clientele. Mateen, who was from Florida and was of Afghan descent, took hostages for as much as three hours, and was shot to death by Swat officers. Though the mass violence is thought to be ideologically motivated, he was not known to have links to any terrorist groups. Another 53 persons were injured in the shooting. The death toll makes the Orlando shooting the worst in United States history. “We pray for victims of the mass shooting in Orlando this morning, their families & our first responders. May the Lord's Mercy be upon us,” Bishop John Noonan of Orlando tweeted June 12. Bishop Noonan was joined in mourning and prayer by Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, who tweeted: “Please join me in praying for the victims of violence, and their families and loved ones, in Orlando.” Bishop William Lori of Baltimore also voiced his grief over the shooting in a tweet sent from his archdiocese, asking as well for prayers for the victims. In his statement, Archbishop Kurtz wrote that the “merciful love of Christ calls us to solidarity with the suffering and to ever greater resolve in protecting the life and dignity of every person.”

Two minutes and thirty seconds is all it took for Sean Bryan to complete the Los Angeles qualifier round of American Ninja Warrior. The season eight premiere of the hit NBC/Esquire show – which follows competitors as they try to complete obstacles courses of increasing difficulty – featured the amateur flying through every obstacle. He even climbed the newly designed, 14.5-foot Warped Wall on his first try. Bryan claimed 4th place and ranked among the show’s veterans, but something else caught everyone’s attention. On Bryan’s bright, yellow shirt was written: ‘Papal Ninja’. “I thought, how could I be a bit more explicit about my faith,” Bryan told CNA, “because it is quite explicit in my life.” The 31-year-old is an active member of the Catholic Church. His story, and the mystery behind his chosen competition name, were highlighted on American Ninja Warrior this month. The show explained Bryan’s history as a gymnast for the University of California, Berkley. While studying physics, Bryan competed mostly on parallel bars and rings. His team earned fifth place in the NCAA championship. It then revealed how Bryan discerned the priesthood with the Salesians of Don Bosco in California. Though Bryan discerned out, the episode showed how he stayed with the Salesians to finish his Masters in Theology with a Salesian Studies Concentration at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology. The episode followed Bryan, who has now earned the degree, as he continues to live with the Salesians and help them as an assistant to the director, and special projects manager. He even turned their garage into an American Ninja Warrior training facility. Bryan also owns his own freelance design and videography business and works as the project manager for the Lay Mission Project – an initiative by the Western Dominican province, Diocese of Sacramento, Catherine of Siena Institute, Institute of Salesian Studies, and Our Sunday Visitor – to form lay Catholics ‘for the sake of animating the mission of the Church to secular society.’