Pope Francis has hailed the release of Cuban prisoners as a “gesture of great hope” that he prays will be undertaken elsewhere.

Pope Francis has praised Cuba's decision to release 553 prisoners as a sign of hope, facilitated by Vatican-brokered discussions involving the US. This move aligns with the pope's tradition of urging clemency during Holy Years.

Cuba then informed Pope Francis it would gradually release 553 convicts as authorities explore the legal and humanitarian ways to make it happen. Havana said, however, that the gesture to the pontiff is unrelated to the U.S. decision to lift the designation.

Pope Francis on Sunday hailed the release of Cuban prisoners as a "gesture of great hope" that he prayed would be undertaken elsewhere, as he welcomed an agreement the Vatican helped facilitate as part of a three-way dialogue with Washington and Havana that dates back to the Cuban missile crisis.

Someone in the queue behind him said “let’s hope he accepts”, but he was, it seems, deaf to all the signs he was in the running. An archbishop asked him, would he accept? “No cardinal can say no”, he said.

Pope Francis received one of the U.S.'s top honors, published a memoir, and facilitated relations between Washington and Havana.

Cuba began releasing some of its prisoners Thursday in the hours after President Joe Biden lifted its status as a state sponsor of terrorism. President-elect Donald Trump gave Cuba the status in his National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 during his first term,

COMMENTARY Cuba should not be on the U.S.'s state sponsors of terrorism list. Dissidents should not be in Cuba's prisons. A new deal gives Havana and President Trump a better opportunity to fix that.

Cuba has started releasing some prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after President Joe Biden’s administration announced his intent to lift the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state spons

“It is significant that the Havana authorities linked this decision directly to Pope Francis’ appeal,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Vatican’s secretary of state called the gradual ...

And a new report reopens the possibility that a mystery weapon used by a foreign adversary caused Havana syndrome. At the White House, senior Biden-administration officials are more convinced than their colleagues in the intelligence agencies that Havana syndrome could have been the result of a deliberate attack by an American foe.

The Catholic Church has its own history of prophetic voices using the moral authority of the priesthood to remind political leaders of the Christian precept of human dignity.