Tag Archives: Pope Francis

From the Jesuit publication America Review: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Pope Francis in the Vatican at noon on Jan. 24, and the two spoke together in private for an hour, a surprisingly long time for an audience with someone who is not a head of state. It was their first meeting. Pope Francis welcomed the vice president, who …

Agence France-Presse reports: Retired former pope Benedict XVI sought to calm a dispute within the Vatican on Tuesday, claiming his name was erroneously attributed as co-author to a new book with a conservative cardinal. Publication of extracts from the book, “The Depth of our Hearts,” by French newspaper Le Figaro on Sunday set off a storm within the Vatican, with …

Reuters reports: Former Pope Benedict, in a new book written with a conservative cardinal, defends priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church in what appears to be a strategically timed appeal to Pope Francis to not change the rules. Excerpts were published on Sunday on the website of the French newspaper Le Figaro. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the …

“We often lose patience. So do I. And I apologize for yesterday’s bad example. Every form of violence inflicted upon a woman is a blasphemy against God, who was born of a woman. Humanity’s salvation came forth from the body of a woman: we can understand our degree of humanity by how we treat a woman’s body.” – Pope Francis, …

Reuters reports: A visibly indignant Pope Francis had to pull himself away from a woman in a crowd in St Peter’s Square on Tuesday after she grabbed his hand and yanked him toward her. After reaching out to touch a child, the pope turned away from the crowd only for a nearby woman to seize his hand and pull her …

The BBC reports: The Pope has prayed for a softening of “stony and self-centred hearts” to help end injustice in the world, in his Christmas Day message. From the Vatican balcony, Pope Francis spoke of “walls of indifference” being put up to people fleeing hardship in the hope of finding a better life. For change to happen for the better, …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has abolished the “pontifical secret” used in clergy sexual abuse cases, after mounting criticism that the high degree of confidentiality has been used to protect pedophiles, silence victims and keep law enforcement from investigating crimes. In a new document, Francis decreed that information in abuse cases must be protected by church leaders to ensure …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said on Friday politicians who rage against homosexuals, gypsies and Jews remind him of Hitler. “It is not coincidental that at times there is a resurgence of symbols typical of Nazism,” Francis said in an address to participants of an international conference on criminal law. “And I must confess to you that when I hear a …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Sunday that the Amazon forest is vital for our Earth and is urging prayers that fires there are quickly controlled. Francis added his voice to the chorus of international concern that the blazes in Brazil will have grave repercussions on the world’s environmental health. The pontiff, who is from the neighboring South American …

From the National Catholic Reporter: Pope Francis called for a united Europe in an interview published by Italian daily La Stampa, saying recent political rhetoric has echoed that of Nazi Germany. “I am concerned because we hear speeches that resemble those of Hitler in 1934,” he said. ” ‘Us first. We . . . We. . . . ‘ These …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis on Sunday condemned attacks on “defenseless people” in a spate of gun violence in three American states, including one that killed 20 people in a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. Speaking to thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday message and blessing, Francis said he was spiritually close to the …

The Christian Post reports: Despite opposition from traditionalists, Pope Francis has officially approved a change to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:13 that replaces “lead us not into temptation” with “do not let us fall into temptation.” Pope Francis first signaled support for amending the “lead us not into temptation” part of the Lord’s Prayer in 2017, arguing that it …

Time Magazine reports: Pope Francis said Saturday that abortion can never be condoned, even when the fetus is gravely sick or likely to die, and urged doctors and priests to support families to carry such pregnancies to term. Speaking to a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, Francis said the opposition to abortion isn’t a religious issue but a human one. “Is it …

NBC News reports: Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by their superiors to church authorities, in an important new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks. The new church law provides whistle-blower protections for anyone making a …

Via press release from the Vatican: In recent months, thousands of migrants have arrived in Mexico, having travelled more than 4,000 kilometres on foot and with makeshift vehicles from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Men and women, often with young children, flee poverty and violence, hoping for a better future in the United States. However, the US border remains closed …

The Washington Blade reports: A group of more than 50 LGBTI rights advocates on Friday met with a high-ranking Vatican official and renewed their calls for the Catholic Church to condemn laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. ILGA World in a press release said the activists met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and presented him …

NPR reports: Pope Francis issued a new decree making it mandatory for Vatican City officials or its diplomats around the globe to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse to authorities or face possible jail time. The edict, called a Motu Proprio and which goes into effect on June 1, comes after an international summit of church leaders convened at the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Pope Francis closed an unprecedented Vatican summit on clerical sex abuse by promising to protect children and help victims of what he called a plague of clerical sex abuse, but he offered few policy specifics. The pope, in his widely awaited closing speech on Sunday, said the church’s response should avoid “defensiveness that fails to …

Agence France-Presse reports: A top Catholic cardinal admitted Saturday that Church files on priests who sexually abused children were destroyed or never even drawn up, a move which allowed pedophiles to prey on others. “Files that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed, or not even created,” German Cardinal Reinhard Marx told a landmark Vatican …

The Guardian reports: A former Roman Catholic archbishop and cardinal has been dismissed from the priesthood after the Vatican found him guilty of sexually abusing minors in a sign of an increasingly hardline stance taken by the church. Theodore McCarrick, 88, one of the prominent figures in the church, was defrocked just days before an unprecedented global summit of bishops …