With the global World Youth Day gathering in Panama just two months away, Pope Francis has sent a special message to young people, urging them to be open and to commit themselves in service to others.

People need the mercy of God and the healing of the Holy Spirit to root out the sin in their lives – they cannot do it on their own, Pope Francis said at the general audience Wednesday.

While Pope Francis is facing monumental challenges on the clerical abuse scandals and allegations that he covered up the sexual misconduct of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, history shows he is not...