The Pope - Page 4

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

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

Rising from an expansive 15-acre plot just 11 miles from Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Mormon’s first temple in Italy shines tall and white. The 140-foot temple, begun in 2010, will be the largest Mormon temple in Europe, and is scheduled

The writing is on the wall for Vatican Radio, which can expect substantial downsizing as the media commission works toward reform of Vatican communications operations. The committee of experts that began meeting this week to study Vatican communications has been

This morning Pope Francis, together with emeritus Pope Benedict, met with thousands of elderly people in Saint Peter’s Square, telling them that old age “is a time of grace.” Grandparents, the Pope said, are entrusted with handing down their wisdom

“People of faith have a grave responsibility to condemn those who seek to detach faith from reason and instrumentalize faith as a justification for violence,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin Wednesday in an address to the UN Security Council. The Cardinal

While downplaying fears that the Islamic State, more commonly known as ISIS, has extended its reach to the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino promised safety for Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines in January, following assassination threats from the extremist

Pope Francis has demanded that serious cases of the abuse of minors by clergy be dealt with swiftly and rigorously. Tuesday, Fr. Federico Lombardi, the head of the Vatican Press Office, released a statement saying that it is the Pope’s

In his annual message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which in 2015 will be observed on January 18, Pope Francis called on all to honor the “biblical commandment of welcoming with respect and solidarity the stranger in

Pope Francis has added five women theologians to the elite International Theological Commission, more than trebling the female component on the team. The International Theological Commission, founded by Pope Paul VI in 1969, assists the Holy See by studying the

Next Saturday evening, Pope Francis will head across town to church of the Gesù to pray with his brother Jesuits, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the reconstitution of his order. The Society of Jesus, better known as the

In today’s whirlwind visit to Albania, Pope Francis emphasized religious liberty on several occasions, making it one of the key themes of his trip. In his opening address this morning before the Albanian President and other civil and government officials,

(AFP) Security has been tightened in Saint Peter’s Square after intelligence services intercepted a possible plan to attack the Vatican, Italian media reported Saturday, increasing fears Pope Francis could be in danger. A foreign security service alerted Italy this week

A Vatican press release confirmed a meeting between Pope Francis and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan Friday morning, during which they paid “special attention” to the plight of “Christian communities and other religious minorities in the area, and to the humanitarian

Even in a week of great political upheaval, politics can be dully predictable. I spent the first part of the week in Madrid for the unveiling of the Margaret Thatcher Plaza, which a vast array of media outlets excitedly reported

The leader of the Greek main opposition party SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, will travel tomorrow to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. The meeting, requested by Tsipras, is scheduled to take place in the Pope’s office at 10:00 am. Talking

Pope Francis reportedly plans on removing Cardinal Raymond Burke from head of the Apostolic Signatura (Vatican “Supreme Court”) and relegating him to the largely ceremonial role as head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The new role would see

Pope Francis is at risk of assassination from ISIS, a top Iraqi diplomat has warned. Habeeb al Sadr, Iraqi ambassador to the Vatican, said that the terror group had issued “credible threats” to the kill the Pope, just days before

This morning, Pope Francis received in audience the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles J. Chaput, who took the occasion to invite Francis to come to Philadelphia next September. The reason for the visit would be the 8th World Meeting of Families

The key motives of Pope Francis’ visit to Albania next Sunday are to honor the martyrs who died under Albanian Communism, to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and to pay homage to Blessed Mother Teresa, a native of Albania.

A host of media outlets have shown surprise that Pope Francis would officiate the wedding ceremony of couples with a sinful past. On August 29, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis would be celebrating the wedding ceremony of 20 couples

After his usual Sunday Angelus message, the Pope added a brief reflection on his visit to the World War I shrine of Redipuglia and the Austro-Hungarian Cemetery. The Pope said, “I prayed for all those who died in the Great

In some of his most forceful language to date, Pope Francis spokeout against war this morning, calling it “madness.” The Pope pronounced these words during the homily at Mass while visiting the military shrine of Redipuglia in commemoration of the

A Lebanese Christian leader who was a keynote speaker at a Washington, D.C. conference during which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was booed for his public support of Israel said President Obama told him during a later meeting that he would

REDIPUGLIA Italy (Reuters) — Pope Francis said on Saturday the spate of conflicts around the globe today were effectively a “piecemeal” Third World War, condemning the arms trade and “plotters of terrorism” sowing death and destruction. “Humanity needs to weep and

Pope Francis received a group of bishops from the DemocraticRepublic of Congo and exhortedthem to be especially attentive to the needs of young people in their dioceses,especially those in danger of violence. “With particular horror I think of the children

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will go toStrasbourg to address the EuropeanParliament on November 25. Francis will be the second pope to visit Strasbourg afterJohn Paul II, who addressedthe Parliament on October 11, 1988. At that time, just

“We must break the silence” on the shameful scourge of contemporary slavery, said archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi yesterday in Geneva at the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Tomasi is the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to

Pope Francis has once again weighed in on the issue of warand peace, this time in a messageto a meeting of religious men and women in Belgium. Citing the pope who reignedduring World War I, Pope Benedict XV, Francis said

As of December 31, 2014, the shops around Vatican City willno longer be selling the familiar parchmentblessings from Pope Francis. In a letter dated April12, 2014, Msgr. Konrad Krajewski, the Pope’s Almoner–or distributor of alms–announcedthe termination of a running agreement

Last week, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako issued an impassioned plea to theinternational community to speak out and take action on behalf of persecutedArab Christians and other minorities. This latest statement came a month after120,000 Iraqi Christians were forcibly displaced

The triple murder of three elderly Italian religious sistersin Burundi has their religious family and the local community reeling. The ItalianForeign Ministryhas confirmed Monday’s death of a third missionary, Sister Bernadette Boggian,who was decapitated,according to a senior official of the

On August 22, Breitbart News published Part I of an exclusive interview with Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, about the importance of destroying the Islamic State terror group. In Part 2 of the interview,