Despite a torrential downpour, an estimated 500,000 people gathered Saturday in Rome under the banner of “Family Day,” protesting gender ideology and LGBT programs in schools and reaffirming the nature of marriage as the lifelong union of one man and one woman.
Pope Francis tackles more than just dirty air and polluted rivers in his new encyclical on the environment. He also warns that a society dominated by media and Internet can stifle human relationships and dull the mind, a syndrome he refers to as “mental pollution.”
For Pope Francis, in the framework of responsible stewardship for creation, the manipulation of gender implies an assault on the Creator and a disrespect for his designs. In his new encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, the Pope condemns the
Rarely has the Vatican reacted more swiftly to a journalistic fiasco than it did this week, banning veteran Italian journalist Sandro Magister from the Holy See Press Office and revoking his accreditation just hours after Magister published online a leaked version of the letter.
In no fewer than 17 tweets as of this printing, Pope Francis has begun e-blasting excerpts from his new encyclical letter on environmental stewardship, calling above all for an “honest debate” on the situation of the environment and what society can do about it.
This week Pope Francis received delegates of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, who came to Rome to celebrate a “Liturgy of Reconciliation” on the occasion of the six hundredth anniversary of the burning at
At an address delivered at AFL-CIO headquarters, the archbishop of Washington, D.C. announced that organized labor is recognized by the Catholic Church as one of the “instruments of solidarity and justice,” and that such solidarity should not be taken for granted or denied.
A scientist who believes the world is overpopulated by 6 billion people has been appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Academy of Science.
Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. Pope Francis’ ongoing concern for environmental issues, which will attain its fullest expression with the release of his encyclical on human ecology Thursday, has deep roots in his own personal experience, especially as archbishop of Buenos Aires, home to one of the most polluted places on the planet.
“Today we cannot help but recognize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach, which must integrate justice in the discussions of the environment, to hear the cry of the earth as much as the cry of the poor.”
A draft of the long-awaited Catholic Encyclical on Climate Change has been leaked four days early by an Italian magazine.
To achieve peace of soul, Christians need to learn to keep their hearts free from “passions” and “worldly noise,” which is the “devil’s noise,” Pope Francis counseled Monday in his homily at morning Mass in the Vatican.
Salon took the article from Alternet, calling it “The Perverse Obsessions of Right-Wing Patriarchal Christians.” The 2000-word rant by Valerie Tarico accuses conservatives of being obsessed with sex and procreation, along with—unbelievably—“anti-kid.”
In a powerfully worded address Thursday, Pope Francis urged the world not to wait for governments and international organizations to end hunger but to take the matter into their own hands.
In a 50-minute visit Wednesday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Pope Francis in Vatican City, “devoted mainly to the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East,” according to a Vatican communiqué.
In his continuing talks addressing marriage and family life, Pope Francis turned his thoughts to those families who have sick or handicapped members, praising their “hidden heroism” in the face of difficulties.
Pope Francis insisted again on Monday that the “complementarity of man and woman” is essential to marriage, but is under attack from “so-called gender ideology, in the name of a freer and fairer society.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, facing a tidal wave of international criticism over human rights violations and hunger strikes by his nation’s most famous prisoners of conscience, canceled a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. Both dissidents and Vatican sources have told multiple Spanish newspapers that the cancelation, ostensibly due to a “cold,” actually occurred out of fear of being embarrassed on a public stage.
In his one-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina Saturday, Pope Francis held up Sarajevo as an example for the whole world of peaceful coexistence among Jews, Christians, and Moslems, who for centuries maintained their distinct cultures and beliefs yet lived together in harmony.
A group of Chilean pro-life activists held a protest in the middle of St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Friday, shortly after Pope Francis received Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, whose government seeks to introduce abortion legislation in Chile, where the practice is illegal.
In a rare display of diplomatic indecorum, Margaret Archer, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, has lashed out at the author of a recent essay, accusing him of hate speech and moral depravity for questioning the Academy’s position on climate change.
In a recent meeting with sick children and their parents, Pope Francis once more thundered against abortion, this time comparing the abortion mentality to the code of the Mafia, who “take out” a person when he gets in their way.
Jesus and Nancy Pelosi seem to have different ideas of what it means to be a good Catholic. On Friday evening, Pelosi lashed out at Marco Rubio for being a “polarizing” figure and not a good “mainstream” Catholic like her.
In a recent one-on-one interview, Pope Francis underscored the contradictions of modern societies that have tight regulations regarding child welfare and yet allow babies to be killed in the womb, a comment that drew plaudits from pro-life activists.
In an address to Bishops of the Dominican Republic this week, Pope Francis returned to a theme he has been hammering home all year: marriage as the union of one man and one woman, an institution that he said is undergoing a “serious crisis.”
In recent days, a game called “the Charlie Challenge” that purportedly involves the invocation of a Mexican demon named Charlie, has gone viral on social networks, especially among middle and high school students.
On Tuesday the Vatican Secretary of State condemned in the strongest of terms this week’s same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland, calling it a “defeat for humanity.”
In a one-on-one interview this week with Argentinian journalist Juan Berretta, Pope Francis talked about his life prior to his election as pope, as well as what it has been like to fill the shoes of the “prince of the apostles.”
In his weekly audience Wednesday, Pope Francis continued his reflections on the family, urging separated parents not to make their children bear the brunt of their difficulties.
In his morning Mass Tuesday, Pope Francis pondered the many “goodbyes” in our lives and drew attention to persecuted Christians throughout the world, reminding his hearers that each “farewell” could be our last.
Over the weekend, the Associated Press, along with virtually every other major media outlet in America, reported that Pope Francis declared Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to be an “angel of peace.” The remark prompted outrage because Abbas’ past conduct, and political corruption, did not in any way qualify him for such a lofty description.
A recent misquote of Pope Francis’ words to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shows that the devil—or the angel—is often in the details. In this case, a subtle difference between the indicative and the subjunctive tenses changed the Pope’s words from an invitation to be an angel of peace into high praise—as if the Palestinian leader already were that angel.
British actor Jude Law is to play the fictional, titular pontiff in director Paolo Sorrentino’s small-screen, contemporary drama series The Young Pope.
This past March, Pope Francis issued a surprise proclamation of a special Jubilee year of mercy to begin in December 2015, which may be dampened—planners fear—by a steady rise in predatory crimes on the streets of the Eternal City.
A Vatican insider asserts that Pope Francis has scrapped the draft of his encyclical letter on the environment and sent it back for major revision. The letter was slated for publication in early summer, but now may not be ready until much later, he suggests.
ROME, Italy– The Vatican’s recognition of the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, while sparking strong reactions, proved no surprise to Vatican watchers, since it merely formalizes a position that the Holy See has had for years.
Nusra Front vows to eradicate ISIS in Qalamoun on Syria/Lebanon border; US escalates tensions with plans for patrols, aircraft in South China Sea; Vatican to recognize State of Palestine while canonizing Palestinian nuns
From Politico: After Pope Francis moved to recognize a Palestinian state, some gung-ho defenders of Israel suggested the pontiff should stick to preaching and stay out of politics. “It’s interesting how the Vatican has gotten so political when ultimately the
During his weekly audience Wednesday, Pope Francis returned to one of his favorite themes: the devil. Reflecting on the importance of good manners and etiquette, Francis insisted that they aren’t enough, because even Satan knows how to put on good manners to get what he wants.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects. The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.
