VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Sunday gave the Catholic church nine new priests, encouraging them in an ordination ceremony in St.
Peter’s Basilica to be humble and compassionate and to stay close to the rank-and-file faithful, whose trust in clergy has been sorely tested by decades of sex abuse scandals.
Professing obedience to the pontiff during the Mass on Sunday were six men from Italy and one each from Romania, Colombia and Brazil.
The men removed their masks, part of COVID-19 safety protocols, when they knelt before Francis and he lay his hands on their head as part of the ordination ritual.