Pope Francis - Page 49

A Catholic Mass will be celebrated next October in the medieval cathedral of Lund, where Catholics have not worshiped since the days of the Reformation.

Pope Francis has tweeted his support for Alfie Evans, after the parents of the critically ill British baby lost a court battle to keep their child on life support.

The Chinese government has reaffirmed its intentions to keep an iron grip on religious practice in the country, releasing a new “white paper” Tuesday that excludes yielding any authority over religious activities to foreign entities.

Some members of China’s Christian community feel betrayed by the Vatican’s negotiations with Beijing over Chinese bishop appointments. In fact, the South China Morning Post writes of Catholics feeling as “betrayed and abandoned” as Jesus on Good Friday.

A Bible publisher protested this week that the Cuban communist regime has prevented them from distributing 17,000 copies printed for the island of the New International Version of the text, an update only legally available to Cuba since the regime lifted its ban on printing new Bibles in 2015.

In reaction to reports that Pope Francis has denied the existence of hell, the Vatican has released a carefully worded statement that does not refute the substance of the claims.

“Fake Christians” who say they are saved by Jesus but still live corrupt lives will “end badly,” Pope Francis warned pilgrims Wednesday in his weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square.

Chinese police arrested Bishop Giuseppe Guo Xijin of Mindong Monday night, just prior to the celebration of Holy Week, the most solemn period in the Christian calendar.

In his Palm Sunday homily, Pope Francis said that Jesus was warmly welcomed by those who felt “left behind” by society, while inciting anger among the elites of his day.

The Vatican has taken new measures to punish critics of Pope Francis in a move that seems to belie the pope’s earlier calls for greater dialogue and debate within the Church.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Msgr. Dario Viganò as head of the Vatican’s communications department following a week of controversy and outrage surrounding a doctored photograph of a letter from emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, which was distributed to journalists.

In the lead-up to the commemoration of Holy Week and Easter, Pope Francis has urged Christians to see the crucifix not as an piece of jewelry but rather as a profound symbol of faith in Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with tattoos, Pope Francis told a group of young people Monday, urging them to be open to cultural expressions of “belonging.”

Cardinal Joseph Zen has denounced proponents of an “imminent” accord between China and the Vatican, saying that the Church is setting itself up for a major disaster.

The Vatican has released the full text of a letter from emeritus Pope Benedict XVI it had previously altered, but the contents of the letter have turned out to be worse than anyone suspected.

The Vatican under Pope Francis is consolidating its opposition to “gender theory,” the notion that maleness and femaleness can be separated from biological sex, according to veteran Vatican analyst John L. Allen, Jr.

Pope Francis reiterated traditional Catholic doctrine Wednesday, reminding pilgrims that no one in a state of mortal sin should receive Holy Communion.

The Vatican has come under heavy fire after admitting to doctoring a photograph of a letter from Emeritus Pope Benedict commenting on a recently published a series of books on the theology of Pope Francis.

One week after Italian elections saw a major shift toward anti-establishment parties, Pope Francis has decried politics based on fear of migrants.

The Vatican is looking to change people’s perspective on mass migration by highlighting positive stories to replace the negative accounts that dominate the media. Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, the co-secretary of the Vatican’s department for migrants and refugees, said that

The Vatican has announced in a statement this week that Pope Paul VI will be canonized in Rome next October with Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed in 1980 while celebrating Mass.

At the five-year mark in the Francis pontificate, “signs of growing discontent” with the pontiff are emerging among American Catholics, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. While the vast majority of U.S. Catholics continue to

The following is an exclusive excerpt from Philip F. Lawler’s new book, Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis Is Misleading His Flock. In the passage below, Lawler’s describes a secret progressive lobby in the Vatican known in its circles as the “St. Gallen Mafia.” As Lawler explains, lobbying for the election of a pope is gravely forbidden under Catholic canon law and has a punishment of excommunication.

The Holy Spirit cannot be contained, and works in all people, including non-believers, pagans and people of other religions, Pope Francis told members of the Roman curia following a Lenten retreat in the central Italian town of Ariccia on Friday.

Missionary Father Bernardo Cervellera says that the Vatican is yielding way too much in its forthcoming diplomatic deal with the ruling Communist Party in China, which risks being “limp.”

Lent is the time when we are called to stand up to Satan and “vanquish” him with God’s help, Pope Francis told pilgrims.

In a meeting with priests, Pope Francis announced that he would canonize Pope Paul VI later this year, and that he and emeritus Pope Benedict XVI are on the “waiting list” to become saints.

Pope Francis has expressed his distress over the “tragic shooting” that occurred at a Parkland (FL) high school Wednesday afternoon, promising prayers for the eternal repose of the victims and healing for the injured and grieving.

A Hong Kong-based group of prominent lay Catholics said that a cyberattack originating from China has targeted their website opposing a forthcoming deal between the Vatican and the Chinese government.

For the sake of his peace of mind, Pope Francis says he doesn’t read websites that accuse him of heresy, which he attributes to “resistance” to necessary reforms in the Vatican.

A group of Catholics in Hong Kong has expressed “shock” and “disappointment” over the Vatican’s reported plans to enter into an agreement with the Chinese government over the appointment of bishops and the status of the state-approved Catholic Patriotic Association.

Anti-Catholic bigotry has been stirred over a Catholic student who was told to remove a Planned Parenthood sticker from her laptop.

“Those who best realize the social doctrine of the church at this time are the Chinese,” Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo told the Italian newspaper La Stampa last Friday. “They seek the common good, subordinating all things to the general good.”

Many migrants wind up as slaves to human traffickers, thanks to a lack of “regular channels” of migration, Pope Francis said Wednesday

The chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences has heaped high and unexpected praise on China, insisting that the atheistic communist regime has created the best model for living out Catholic social teaching today.

Pope Francis is under fire for “apparently” lying about not being fully informed that a Chilean priest he elevated to the role of bishop had allegedly “witnessed and took part in the sexual abuse of a child and covered it up,” said John Zmirak on Tuesday.