Pope Francis received the FC Bayern Munich sports club in a private meeting Wednesday, in which he congratulated them for having “played a wonderful game” against Roma the night before, handing the Italian team a 7-1 rout. The team gave
Pope Francis will travel to Turkey Nov. 28-30, the Vatican announced Tuesday, as friction grows between Cyprus and Turkey over Turkish incursions in areas of sea licensed to the Republic of Cyprus. On Monday morning, the Turkish vessel Barbados entered
Pope Francis “favors change on the disciplinary rules on access to sacraments for divorced people who remarried outside the Church,” declared an article in the Huffington Post Monday. The fact that Pope Francis has never said this does not seem
Madonna, who has made a career flouting conventions, customs, and Catholicism cannot be too happy to see her iconic song, “Like a Virgin,” converted into a prayer by the celebrity nun from Italy, Suor Cristina Scuccia. The 26-year-old Suor Cristina
False hopes built up by an initial, unreviewed draft of a Vatican statement on marriage were dashed Saturday as the final document was released without earlier language on “valuing” the homosexual orientation. The final document, or “relatio,” considerably shortened the
Pope Francis’ efforts to inculcate a more merciful approach to homosexuals and divorced persons within the Catholic Church have failed to win the support of the majority of Bishops at the synod on the family. Conciliatory language used in a
Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest court, has confirmed that Pope Francis is transferring him to a largely ceremonial post as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In a phone interview with BuzzFeed, Burke, 66 years old,
In the face of widespread confusion following the release of a Vatican document on Monday, Pope Francis has reacted by enlarging the 3-man drafting committee, adding two members. Monday’s document purported to summarize the first week of discussions by the
A row has broken out between the Catholic Bishops attending the Church’s Synod on the Family in Vatican City, after a report on the proceedings – which included references to the “gifts and qualities” that homosexual people can bring to
“If the Church wishes to be clear in her teaching,” a change in ecclesial language “is neither possible nor desirable,” Cardinal Raymond Burke told Breitbart in an interview on Sunday. Cardinal Burke, a canon lawyer, is the equivalent of the
Convicted Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has written a letter of warning to Pope Francis espousing “jihad” and referring to himself as SoA, or “Soldier of Allah.” Hasan gave the six-page, hand-written letter to his attorney John Galligan, instructing
Married couples should cultivate “a healthy eroticism,” a Brazilian couple told the Pope and bishops gathered in the Vatican Thursday morning. Arturo and Hermelinda As Zamberline from Brazil spoke about the importance of keeping passion alive within a marriage, offering
Divisions among Christians “hurt the Church and they wound Christ,” Pope Francis said to tens of thousands of visitors gathered in Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday morning. During her journey through history, “the Church is tempted by the devil who tries
A synod of bishops “is no place for debating bright, original ideas or seeing who is the smartest,” Pope Francis told his fellow bishops this morning. It is for “taking better care of the Lord’s vineyard.” In kicking off the
As scholars learn increasingly more about Pope Pius XII and his leadership of the church during World War II, a more impartial and favorable portrait of the man has emerged, despite negative caricatures that persist in public opinion, including the
Born into slavery and later ordained in Rome, the first African-American diocesan priest has just taken a big step toward being recognized as a Catholic saint. On Monday, the Archdiocese of Chicago closed the final diocesan phase of the investigation
Today Pope Francis received the Assyrian Patriarch of the East, Mar Dinkha IV, assuring him of his “personal commitment” to deepen the dialogue between their two churches and underscoring their common suffering from “the violence that Christians and the faithful
The Pope is not down with a free market that means more participation. What he’s against is “crony capitalism” where the “powerful pick the winners and the losers,” said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in a televised interview yesterday. Speaking about
Senior courtiers are looking at the possibility of Prince Charles taking over HM The Queen’s duties as she approaches her 90th birthday, according to the Daily Telegraph. A legal mechanism known as the Regency allows an elderly or mentally incapacitated monarch
Amid polemics featuring prominent Catholic cardinals, another bishop has stepped forward supposedly speaking for Pope Francis regarding the question of admitting divorced and remarried Catholics to Holy Communion. “The Pope himself told us that a person married in the Church
Rarely do Roman Catholic Cardinals engage in as much public sparring as they have in recent weeks over the upcoming summit on marriage and family, set to begin this coming Sunday, Oct. 5. The latest in a series of public
This story originally appeared at The Daily Mail: On 26 August 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani was elected Pope on only the fourth ballot, taking the name of John Paul I. He came from near Belluno, some 80 miles north of
With unprecedented candor, the Vatican has censured the United Nations, accusing it of “apathy” and “indifference” in the face of the violent conflicts besieging the world today. Rather than hiding behind diplomatic generalities, the Vatican did not mince words in
Pope Francis traded the white skullcap–or “zucchetto”–he was wearing for an identical one offered by one of the hosts of a variety-show who was present for his General Audience on Wednesday, Sept. 17. The Italian program “Le Iene” (The Hyenas)
“Satan always seeks to destroy man,” said Pope Francis this morning during the homily at Mass, on a day when the Catholic church celebrates the feast of the archangels: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. “He looks to destroy humanity, all of
