Tag: Vatican

During his daily celebration of Mass in the chapel of his apartment residence, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church can be hindered by dual temptations of wanting to remain in the past and “adolescent progressivism.” The pontiff warned of

VATICAN CITY, June 11 (UPI) — Pope Francis has confirmed there is a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican, a Catholic website reported. Reports of such a group in the Curia have circulated for months and may have been a consideration

Despite a sudden rainstorm that blew through Rome on Wednesday morning, Pope Francis’ weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square went on as planned.  Undeterred, and without the need for a Swiss Guard to shield him from the rain with

To the delight and surprise of about 40,000 participants in Rome’s Marcia per la Vita (March for Life) Internazionale in Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis left the Apostolic Palace to join them in the popemobile as they gathered in the

(AP) Pope Francis gives church hundreds of new saintsBy FRANCES D’EMILIOAssociated PressVATICAN CITY Pope Francis on Sunday gave the Catholic church new saints, including hundreds of 15th-century martyrs who were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam, as he led

Coptic Orthodox leader Tawadros II arrives in Rome on Thursday for a historic four-day visit to meet Pope Francis — a sign of growing rapprochement between the Vatican and the Orthodox world. The meeting on Friday will be the first

Vatican Radio released a telegram, sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, on behalf of Pope Francis, to Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, concerning the bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday: Deeply grieved by news of

(AP) – The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis supports the Holy See’s crackdown on the largest umbrella group of U.S. nuns, dimming hopes that a Jesuit pope whose emphasis on the poor mirrored the nuns’ own social outreach would

Only a month into his papacy, Pope Francis is sending clear messages that he intends to make changes in the Church. And, while much of the focus of necessary change, at least for the cardinals who elected him, has been

(AP) – Pope Francis indicated Friday that he will seek to have the church act “with determination” against clergy sex abuse cases. The pope pushed for decisive action during a meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine

In his first Urbi et Orbi message- to the city of Rome and to the world– Pope Francis told the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who came to celebrate Easter with him, that the power of Christ’s Resurrection, “this passover

Pope Francis used his first Easter Sunday address to call for peace in the world and appealed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula. In his first “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world)

Thousands of people with candles filled the area surrounding the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday evening, where Pope Francis presided over the traditional dramatic ritual of the Way of the Cross, a meditation on the crucifixion of Jesus. The

By NICOLE WINFIELDAssociated PressROMEPope Francis reached out in friendship to “so many Muslim brothers and sisters” during a Good Friday procession dedicated to the suffering of Christians from terrorism, war and religious fanaticism in the Middle East. The new pontiff,

Pope Francis is to celebrate his first Easter vigil Saturday after praying for peace in a Middle East “torn apart by injustice and conflicts” during Good Friday’s ceremonies. The newly elected Argentine pope will preside over a mass at St

By NICOLE WINFIELDAssociated PressVATICAN CITYPope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world’s poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of

By NICOLE WINFIELDAssociated PressROMEIn his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center _ a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual