Vatican City, Sep 10, 2019 / 01:24 pm (CNA).- Speaking aboard the papal plane from Madagascar to Rome Tuesday, Pope Francis said he welcomes criticism if it is given openly, fairly, and with a willingness to be debated.

“Of criticisms, I always see the advantages. Sometimes you get angry, but the advantages are there,” he said Sept. 10 during an in-flight press conference.

“A fair criticism is always well received, at least by me.”

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2019 / 05:45 pm (CNA).- Two cardinals have sent letters to fellow members of the College of Cardinals, raising concerns about the working document for an upcoming synod of bishops on the pan-Amazonian region.

“Some points of the synod’s Instrumentum laboris seem not only in dissonance with respect to the authentic teaching of the Church, but even contrary to it,” Cardinal Walter Brandmüller wrote to fellow cardinals in an Aug. 28 letter obtained by CNA.

Maputo, Mozambique, Sep 4, 2019 / 12:33 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis arrived in Maputo, Mozambique on Wednesday, kicking off a Sept. 4-10 trip to sub-Saharan Africa. The pope was greeted by government officials at a welcoming ceremony, with singing crowds lining the streets.

On the nearly 11-hour flight to Africa, Pope Francis offered prayers for victims of Hurricane Dorian, which tore through the Bahamas this week, causing widespread devastation.

Denver, Colo., Sep 3, 2019 / 11:10 am (CNA).- The vice-president of the Pontifical Institute John Paul II in Rome has proposed a compromise between the university administrators implementing a restructuring plan at the school, and the faculty members who have opposed certain aspects of that plan.