NATION/WORLD

Listen to the Holy Spirit because he is giving people the good news that God loves them and can renew, purify and transform their lives, Pope Francis said.

Patience in the midst of trials and patiently putting up with other people are marks of Christian maturity, Pope Francis told ushers and other staff members of the office that cleans and repairs St. Peter's Basilica and watches over the millions of people who visit it each year.

Two days after the head of the Vatican office overseeing religious life said he had not been consulted by the Vatican's doctrinal office about a controversial investigation of American nuns, the two bodies affirmed their "common commitment" to reform of the U.S.-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Dialogue doesn't work with the devil; the only defense is the word of God, humility and meekness, especially in response to his works of hatred and persecution, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis celebrated popular piety as a means of transmitting the faith and cultivating it in ordinary Catholics but said such piety must be practiced in communion with the hierarchy in order to maintain the church's unity.

The legalization of same-sex marriage in Rhode Island May 2 was described as a "serious injustice" by the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

Mary is a mother who helps Christians grow, face the difficulties of life and use their freedom to make lasting commitments, Pope Francis said. Marking Catholics' traditional celebration of May as the month of Mary, Pope Francis led the recitation of the rosary May 4 at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The Food and Drug Administration "acted irresponsibly" with its decision to lower the age limit from 17 to 15 for purchasing an over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, said an official of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

For the first time in history, the Vatican is home to a pope and a retired pope. Pope Francis welcomed his predecessor, retired Pope Benedict XVI, to the Vatican May 2 outside the convent remodeled for the 86-year-old retired pontiff and five aides.

One U.S. Catholic bishop hailed the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland as "a courageous step toward a culture of life." The comment, by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, was issued May 2, the day Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, signed the bill that repeals capital punishment.