(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
Aficionados of horror fiction must occasionally deal with the inherent flaw of the genre: a horror film or book can succeed so well at being frightening, disturbing, or repulsive that it fails as entertainment. The audience response is, “Wow, that
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,
Catholics are often told to be in the world but not of the world, meaning that while they carry on ordinary lives, they should never forget their faith and what it demands of them. In a similar way, Pope Francis seems
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Pope Francis has called the family of an American journalist whose videotaped beheading by Islamic State militants has touched off torrents of outrage around the world. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi confirms the pope called
For the first time, Pope Francis has talked about his own mortality, telling reporters he estimates “two or three years” left before his passing. A reporter embedded with the Pope asked him about his overall popularity on the flight back
Pope Francis hinted during an interview that he might visit Washington, D.C. next year during his trip to the United States. The pontiff acknowledged his previously reported plans to attend the international World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015
Vox is suggesting Pope Francis’ measured statement about ISIS is the equivalent of a new Crusade. They do so without bothering to quote or even link what the Pope actually said. Pope Francis was asked his opinion of the U.S.
Catholicism in Korea came without missionaries, priests or nuns. Instead, it grew from a Confucian scholar who read books about the Faith and was baptized Peter by a Jesuit missionary in China. He returned to Korea with the books and baptized many more,
“The pope? How many divisions has he got?” Soviet leader Josef Stalin said this in May 1935 to French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval when it was suggested the officially atheist Soviet Union should encourage Christianity to gain the pope’s favor.
Fearing a genocide of Christians, the Vatican has given its approval to US military air strikes in Iraq — a rare exception to its policy of peaceful conflict resolution. The Holy See’s ambassador to the United Nations, Silvano Tomasi, this
In what appears to be yet another attempt to claim it is “opening” itself to the world, the communist regime of Cuba is reportedly set to approve the construction of a Catholic church on the island for the first time
(AFP) — Pope Francis called on the international community on Thursday to protect the mostly Christian communities of northern Iraq fleeing a lightning advance by jihadist militants. A statement delivered by his spokesman said the pope joined the urgent appeals
Twenty-nine years after having his priesthood suspended by Pope John Paul II, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann has now been given a green light to return. On friday, the Vatican announced that “The Holy Father has given His benevolent assent that Father Miguel d’Escoto
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the Sudanese mother who was condemned to die for marrying a Christian, arrived in the United States Thursday evening with her American husband and two babies. Welcoming her on a brief stopover in Philadelphia, the city’s
Though not yet confirmed by the Vatican, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia has announced that Pope Francis will make his first visit to the United States to attend the World Meeting of Families that will take place in Philadelphia next
Judge Jeanine Pirro, host of the Fox News Channel’s “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” criticized Pope Francis for defending illegal immigrant children in the United States while failing to take action on behalf of Christians in the Middle East on her
At long last, Meriam Ibrahim – the Christian woman sentenced to death for “apostasy” in Sudan, and forced to give birth to her second child while chained to a wall – has escaped the clutches of what passes for the
Meriam Yahya Ishag and her family landed safely in Italy last night. She flew on an Italian government plane and was accompanied by Italian Minister, Lapo Pistelli. Upon landing, Meriam was welcomed by Italy’s Foreign Minister, Matteo Renzi. Within hours
Tel Aviv, Israel– While preparing his soldiers for the coming battle, an IDF captain gave the troops under his command a powerful speech; reminding them of their mission as they were getting set to advance into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
In a speech urging his Senate colleagues to accept the thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the border, Sen. Patrick Leahy reminded his colleagues of a time when the United States turned back Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Leahy urged Senators to
