On June 3, 2016 Pope Francis addressed the judges and magistrates of the Vatican, insisting that the Church has a duty to intervene in political issues that cause “open wounds and dramatic suffering.” Citing the current model of the criminal justice system, he decried the prevalence of corruption and strictly penal punishments.
Pope Francis insisted that for true justice, punishment is not enough. Rather, both victims and offenders must be re-educated to give them hope for a successful re-integration into society. “No penalty that doesn’t give hope is valid. If it doesn’t give hope, it’s torture.”
“Forcefully reiterating” the Church’s stance against the death penalty, Pope Francis implores all to “let it be God who chooses when the time has come.” Source
Allies of Ben Carson will launch a super-PAC later this month with the aim of turning out evangelical voters for 
DES MOINES, Iowa — Three church-state separation groups are expressing objection to a proclamation issued by the governor of Iowa that urges residents to participate in a statewide Bible reading marathon.
President Obama came face to face with the horror of nuclear war Friday in a somber visit to Hiroshima, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to tour the site of the atomic bombing 71 years ago that killed tens of thousands in an instant and ushered in the nuclear age.
On Saturday, Pope Francis met with the president of the Republic of Singapore, marking 35 years of diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian country and the Holy See, and the first ever state visit by a Singaporean president to a Pope.