In a novel response to Pope Francis’ decision to allow all Catholic priests to absolve women from the sin of abortion during the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, a writer in New York Times accuses Pope Francis of “cruelty,” saying his offer of mercy is evidence of condescension toward women.
It is fascinating to watch the mainstream media create a narrative around Pope Francis that they hope will set the tone for his upcoming visit to the United States.
In a darkly toned essay reminiscent of The Borgias, Washington Post Berlin Bureau Chief Anthony Faiola tells his readers that a storm is brewing in the Church, pitting liberal “Francis Catholics” against a sour group of disenfranchised conservatives who are looking for ways to stymie the Pope at every turn.
On Monday Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Vatican with the new Armenian Patriarch, Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, and preached once more on the widespread persecution of Christians throughout the world.
In the general scramble to grab a bit of Pope Francis’ luster in time for his upcoming trip to the United States, Politico has joined a host of other journals, pundits and politicians to stake a claim to the popular pontiff while attempting to distance him from their political adversaries.
The End-of-Life Option Act, SB 128, which seemed dead this summer when it failed to exit the California Assembly Health Committee, was resurrected in August with a new name, AB X2-15, and may be passed by the Assembly this week.
In his most forceful appeal to date, Pope Francis launched an urgent plea Sunday asking all Catholic institutions on Europe to take in one refugee family, beginning with his own diocese of Rome.
Pope Francis slipped out of the Vatican Thursday evening and had his driver take him to an optometrist near the busy Piazza del Popolo to swap out the lenses in his eyeglasses.
In his online media event with groups of Americans in three cities earlier this week, Pope Francis congratulated a single mother on her decision to give birth to two daughters, telling her to hold her head high and not be ashamed.
In a Catholic-Jewish double-header, Pope Francis met in a private audience this morning with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and later in the morning with Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, accompanied by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
For the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is hammering home the message of forgiveness, urging all the Catholic priests in the Church to dedicate plenty of time each week to hearing confessions.
One of Syria’s most senior Catholics has issued an impassioned plea to young Syrians, begging them to stay. Describing the exodus of Syria’s young as a “tsunami”, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III warned that the scale of youth immigration
In the latest scuffle over gender issues, the Vatican has come down squarely in favor of the traditional male-female distinction of human beings, banning transgender persons from being godparents posing as the opposite sex from which they were born.
The Vatican has ruled that a Spanish man who was born a woman cannot be godfather to his nephew as he is not living a life “consistent with the faith.” The Bishop of Cádiz had originally ruled that Alex Salinas,
In his homily at Mass Tuesday morning, Pope Francis wondered aloud why Christians waste so much time talking about useless things, instead of focusing more on the things that really matter, like God and eternity.
British Catholics hold a surprisingly liberal view on gay marriage with 50 per cent claiming to support it compared to just 40 per cent opposing, a new survey suggests. Meanwhile UK Protestants are strongly in favour of euthanasia, a practice
In his virtual town-hall event, the Pope spoke with from the Vatican with students from the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, parishioners of the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas, as well as homeless men and women and the people who work with them, in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by ABC News in an effort to reach out to Americans from all parts of the country, since Francis will only be able to three East coast cities during his visit later in September.
Despite having a foundation in a faith that values life from conception and denounces abortion, some Catholic colleges have relationships with Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.
In the lead-up to the anticipated U.S. visit of Pope Francis next month, Vice President Joe Biden is the latest in a line of Democrats jockeying for position to enlist the Pope for their platform in the hope of siphoning off some of his popularity for their languishing party.
In a new study, the liberal protestant Public Religion Research Institute claims erroneously that Catholics are left-wing when it comes to gay marriage, climate change, and even abortion.
In his Angelus address before several thousand people in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis warned that outward obedience to the law is insufficient if there is no change of heart and a real love for God and one’s neighbor.
After his traditional Angelus message on Sunday, Pope Francis launched a heartfelt appeal on behalf of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, saying that there are more Christians killed for their faith today than during the brutal persecutions by the Roman Empire.
Though a known opponent of gay marriage and “gender theory,” Pope Francis has unintentionally given his endorsement to a children’s book proposing alternative family styles, including same-sex parents, with a letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State.
More than 500,000 Catholics, including many senior clerics, have signed a petition calling on Pope Francis to reaffirm traditional teaching on marriage and the family after months of confusion over his supposed liberal stance on the issue. The petition, which
With the Pope’s U.S. visit looming on the horizon, pundits are voicing their predictions that President Barack Obama will attempt to seize the opportunity to cash in on the Pope’s popularity to galvanize support for the Democratic Party.
