Pope Francis on Friday called for the Catholic Church and its faithful to rid themselves of earthly concerns like St Francis of Assisi during a pilgrimage to the saint’s Italian hometown. Speaking in the hall where the medieval saint is
The attack on an Anglican church in Pakistan on September 22 caused Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to speak out on attacks on Christians in the Muslim world. He said Christians are being martyred for their faith in many Muslim countries and
Six months in to his job as the Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis is causing a ruckus, leaving many people, both secular and religious, asking, “What’s he doing, and why is he doing
Just days after a controversial interview with Pope Francis was published in the Jesuit magazine America, the pontiff has reportedly excommunicated a priest in Melbourne, Australia because of his support for female priests and gay marriage. According to Barney Zwartz
Though some Catholic commentators have warned that the main-stream media have purposefully manipulated some of Pope Francis’ words from his recent controversial interview, one writer questions whether the new pontiff is actually detached from the real world. Writing at Aleteia,
(AP) Pope’s blunt remarks pose challenge for bishopsBy RACHEL ZOLLAP Religion WriterNEW YORKIn recent years, many American bishops have drawn a harder line with parishioners on what could be considered truly Roman Catholic, adopting a more aggressive style of correction
(AP) Pope warns church must find new balance or failBy NICOLE WINFIELD and RACHEL ZOLLAssociated PressVATICAN CITYPope Francis is warning that the Catholic Church’s moral edifice might “fall like a house of cards” if it doesn’t balance its divisive rules
Of late, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops has been very vocal in its support of the latest version of immigration reform moving through Congress. It is making a particular push this month, even urging pastors to speak to the
(AP) Priest gives used car to pope, who wants to driveVATICAN CITYPope Francis now has his own mini popemobile after getting a good deal on a used car that he plans to drive himself. Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini,
(AP) Vatican: 100,000 attend Syria peace vigilBy NICOLE WINFIELDAssociated PressVATICAN CITYTens of thousands of people filled St. Peter’s Square for a four-hour Syria peace vigil late Saturday, answering Pope Francis’ call for a grassroots cry for peace that was echoed
On Sunday, Sept. 1, Pope Francis addressed the escalating violence in Syria before crowds packed into St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome, deploring talk of military intervention and calling for a vigil of prayer and fasting on Saturday,
A small community of Trappistine nuns in Syria posted a letter on August 29 in which they present themselves as living in a state of suspenseful anticipation of President Barack Obama’s final decision about a potential intervention in Syria. The
In the two millennia since the founding of the Roman Catholic Church, communication from popes has traditionally been in formal language through formal means. Those days are over. Nothing illustrates that more clearly than what has been coming out in
James Madison once observed, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Alas, this is not the case, so every public and private institution is filled to the brim with flawed human beings; that includes the Roman Catholic Church.
Zenit, a controversial news agency based in Rome with deep ties to the Vatican, reported Wednesday that Pope Emeritus Benedict abdicated because of an ongoing “mystical experience.” Benedict lives in seclusion in a cloistered monastery, Mater Ecclesiae, within the Vatican
Amjad Qourshah, an Islamic studies professor at the University of Amman in Jordan with ties to the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), has unleashed a tirade of anti-Christian venom against Egypt’s Copts, accusing
A memo posted on the Facebook page of a local office of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism shows a clear call to incitement against Egypt’s Coptic Christian population, giving its blessing to the
In an interview with the Daily Beast published on Friday, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) launched into a rant against the Tea Party, terming the movement racist; he added that Republicans are “terrorists.” He stated of GOP opposition to the Obama
CNN’s Carol Costello is practically speechless. The BBC actually sent me a news alert. The New York Times described the moment as “breathtaking.” So what did Pope Francis say that sent shockwaves through the left-wing media? Oh, just something that
Pope Francis celebrated the closing Mass of World Youth Day (WYD) 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday. Prior to the end of the Mass, the pope announced that the next WYD will be celebrated in 2016, in Krakow,
By local estimates, 3 million people gathered on the night of Saturday, July 27, on Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana Beach to sing and pray with Pope Francis, in the penultimate celebration of the 28th edition of the Roman Catholic
(AP) Pope draws 3M for vigil after chastising ‘exodus’By NICOLE WINFIELD and JENNY BARCHFIELDAssociated PressRIO DE JANEIROPope Francis drew a reported 3 million flag-waving, rosary-toting faithful to Rio’s Copacabana beach on Saturday for the final evening of World Youth Day,
In his first major overseas event since being elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church in March, Pope Francis has kept a whirlwind schedule at World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But when he gets back to
A huge crowd of 1.5 million Catholics greeted Pope Francis on Brazil’s Copacabana beach after the pontiff toured a notorious Rio slum to defend the cause of the poor. Latin America’s first pope was confronted with starkly contrasting images of
According to Catholic News Agency, Pope Francis said on Monday that part of his World Youth Day mission was to help counter a “throwaway culture” that threatens to isolate young people from “a family, a country, a culture, a faith.”
In in his first public Mass at the 2013 World Youth Day global gathering of Roman Catholic young people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Pope Francis hit upon already-familiar themes of his papacy. He urged Christians to have hope and
David Letterman pulls every punch he can when it comes to President Barack Obama, but he has no qualms mocking the Pope or the Catholic Church. On the July 23 edition of CBS’s The Late Show, Letterman brought up Pope
Pope Francis met with wildly enthusiastic crowds during the first day of his visit to Brazil for World Youth Day 2013. The charismatic and spontaneous pontiff, known for his love of the poor and disabled, has created a dilemma for
Not long after Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope in March, Vatican watchers around the world realized that, as big news as the papal conclave was, Pope Francis’s true debut on the world stage might come in July
A homemade explosive device was found July 21 in a parking garage at the site of the Brazilian shrine Pope Francis will visit this week while in Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day 2013. According to AFP, the Sao
There’s a fresh set of scandalous tales circulating around the Vatican. Depending on whom you ask, it’s either the infamous “gay lobby” scrubbing the personnel records of a misbehaving priest to protect one of their own, or it’s opponents of
A headline in the tech blog Mashable a few days ago proclaimed “Pope Francis to Forgive Your Sins via Twitter,” setting off a flurry of other headlines about how following the pontiff via his @pontifex address could get you absolved
Pope Francis will return to his native South America for the first time since being elected pontiff in March, for the 28th World Youth Day (WYD), which will be held in Rio de Janeiro from July 22 through July 28.
Vanity Fair Italy named Pope Francis its “Man of the Year” Wednesday, saying that the Roman Catholic leader’s first 100 days as pontiff had already made him one of the world’s top leaders. Newsmax reports that the 76-year-old former cardinal
In a word, no. But it is also not the Vatican equivalent of a New York Times op-ed. Nor is it merely a scholarly dissertation, to be read only by theologians, who might write their own scholarly dissertations on it,
Pope Francis’ first encyclical, released on Friday, is actually, as he himself described it, the work of “four hands.” A joint effort by himself and his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the papal letter, entitled Lumen Fidei which, in Latin,
Italy and Argentina will meet in a friendly soccer match on August 14 in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico to honor Pope Francis, the Argentinian who is an avid soccer fan. The Pope will watch the match from the Vatican with representatives
With reports that a second miracle, attributed to the influence of Pope John Paul II, has been approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, it is anticipated that Pope Francis could canonize the former pontiff before the end
Vatican Radio reported Wednesday that Pope Francis has set up a Pontifical Commission that is charged with drawing up an “exhaustive” report of the status and activities of the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR). The Commission consists
A funny thing happened on the way to a Vatican concert last Saturday night: Pope Francis never showed up. The popular pontiff had Italian media aflutter when he decided to forgo a classical concert, an event that was part of
