Cardinal George Pell, whom Pope Francis hand-picked as head of the recently created Vatican “Secretariat for the Economy,” revealed Wednesday that the Vatican’s financial situation “is much healthier than it seemed.” “In fact,” Pell said, “some hundreds of millions of
Addressing tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday, Pope Francis recounting his recent trip to Turkey, summing up his meeting with state officials with the words: “We spoke of violence.” Francis said that on the first
In their meeting this weekend, Pope Francis told Turkish President Erdogan that what is needed now is a worldwide condemnation of Islamic terrorism “from the Muslims themselves.” They need to distance themselves from ISIS and say: “That is not who
In a recent interview, Pope Francis’ right-hand man for the reform of the Roman curia said we can expect serious downsizing of the offices that make up the Vatican bureaucracy. Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, the Honduran coordinator of the
On Sunday, the Chicago Archbishop who has been described as “Pope Francis’s American messenger” praised President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty and expressed concerns about the privacy of illegal immigrants who will be coming out of the shadows. Archbishop Blase Cupich,
Ever since Pope Francis said “Who am I to judge?” when asked about the possibility that some gay clerics may be working in the Vatican, many have assumed that Francis was effecting a major sea change in Vatican politics and
On Sunday Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew signed a joint declaration affirming their common commitment to full Christian unity as well as their support for suffering Christians in the Middle East. “We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without
The United Nations and the American media are choosing to highlight a new report of the international body’s Committee Against Torture that criticizes many aspects of US law enforcement. Writing for the Associated Press, reporter John Heilprin tried to frame the
The election of delegations from the US and Spain have Catholic conservatives at least slightly buoyed about their chances of winning the debate at the next and final Synod on family issues in the Catholic Church. The Extraordinary Synod that
In his historic trip to Turkey Friday, Pope Francis decried the “tragic” situation in the Middle East, above all in Iraq and Syria. “Everyone suffers the consequences of these conflicts, and the humanitarian situation is unbearable,” he said. “I think
The Pope traveled to Turkey Friday morning for a long-awaited three-day visit for meetings with religious and political authorities. But upon arriving at the presidential palace in Ankara, the Pope came out swinging, immediately focusing on Turkey’s soft underbelly: religious
Kuwait’s National Assembly Speaker, Marzouq Al-Ghanim, met with Pope Francis at the general audience on Wednesday. Al-Ghanim said the visit had special importance, as it comes amid fears of terrorism “and reports by foreign media seeking to link terrorism to
VATICAN CITY (AP) — When a pope last visited Turkey — Benedict XVI in 2006 — Muslim-Catholic tensions were so high that the Vatican added a stop at Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque at the last minute in hopes of showing
It is beautiful “to think of Heaven,” said Pope Francis Wednesday. “All of us will meet there, everyone. It is beautiful; it gives strength to the soul.” At his general audience in St Peter’s Square this morning, before a crowd
The report rocketed around the Internet, trading in equal parts outrage and glee–outrage that the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF might be spiking tetanus shots of poor African women with a sterilizing vaccine, glee that they’d been caught. Doubts
Germany’s Catholic bishops are pressing ahead with reform of a controversial Church labor law that would allow employees who are in homosexual relationships or those divorced and civilly remarried to work in Church-run institutions. The bishops were to unanimously vote
In his address Tuesday morning to the European Parliament, Pope Francis issued a powerful plea to Europe to rediscover its religious roots and to place the human person at the center of society. “A Europe which is capable of appreciating
In a long-awaited decision, Pope Francis has tapped a conservative African cardinal, Robert Sarah of Guinea, as head of the Vatican’s liturgical office. This is the second nomination of a conservative African to an influential position in less than a
In its bid for formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican, Beijing is now ready to offer a compromise in the contentious issue of how Catholic bishops are appointed in China. This represents an important departure from Beijing’s hardline position of
In what seems now to be a hoax, topless Femen protesters in Paris enacted the kidnapping of a Roman Catholic priest, creating a video that is coursing around the world. The new kidnapping video was posted on Twitter Friday and
Pope Francis said that the current economic crisis requires “initiative” to overcome the consequences of economic difficulties and unemployment, avoiding the temptations of “welfarism” and “indifference.” “We must renew working relationships,” Francis said in a video message released by the
American Cardinal Raymond Burke, recently demoted from the highest legal office in the Vatican, told a conference in Ireland that Catholic layman should write to the Pope to voice their opinions about the general Synod of Bishops to take place
No one can say Pope Francis doesn’t practice what he preaches. Even as he daily urges Christians to do more for the poor, he keeps finding ways to help them personally. This time the Pope has decided to raffle off
On Monday morning, Pope Francis personally confirmed that he will visit the United States in September 2015 to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. This will be the Pope’s first visit to the U.S. The Pope made the
Rock legend Patti Smith, the “Godmother of Punk,” will join 17 other artists performing at the Vatican’s annual Christmas concert on December 13, 2014. The concert, at Conciliation Auditorium in Rome, a few steps from St. Peter’s, will be broadcast
In his two addresses today, Pope Francis reiterated the importance of strong, stable families for the future of society, insisting that man and woman are both essential. In his first address, delivered before a group of several hundred scholars and
A veritable who’s who of the global pro-family movement and other religious leaders gathered in Paul VI Hall inside the Vatican this morning for what will be three days of talks from faith and public policy leaders that will result
Gosh! How wickedly funny it was of a group of internet pranksters to whip up confected outrage over Dr Matt Taylor’s harmless, if rather loud, shirt. That’s the Matt Taylor who just landed a spacecraft on a comet, by the
“The reigning mentality sometimes proposes a ‘false compassion,’” said Pope Francis Saturday, “the idea that supporting abortion somehow helps women, or that euthanasia is an act of dignity.” The Pope was speaking in the Vatican to a large group of
Three members of the feminist protest group Femen took to Saint Peter’s Square yesterday in criticism of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the European Parliament. Dressed only in black leather miniskirts, the three got down on all fours and simulated
In his meeting with more some 7,000 accountants Friday, Pope Francis focused on the humanity of their work, reminding them that “behind each piece of paper there is a story, there are faces.” He invited them to “go beyond” numbers
In the final joint statement, delegates from the Catholic-Muslim Forum in Rome “unanimously condemned acts of terrorism, oppression, violence against innocent persons, persecution, desecration of sacred places, and the destruction of cultural heritage.” In this third seminar of the Forum,
In the wake of the confusing meeting in October, the American bishops are taking no chances with next year’s conclusion to the two-part marriage summit. They have sent a strong message, electing a solidly conservative team of bishops to represent
The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, is urging President Obama to use executive action to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants if Congress fails to do so. According to Crux, Bishop Gerald Kicanas, a major voice for amnesty
Nicki Minaj’s new single “Only” was released this week to heavy criticism for its use of Nazi imagery. The video’s director, Jeff Osbourne, has issued a statement on Myspace offering no apologies. The statement, which is in response to one released
Next Monday, work will begin to renovate Vatican restrooms for pilgrims, but Pope Francis has also given instructions for showers to be installed where Rome’s homeless can wash. Bishop Konrad Krajewski, or “Don Conrado” as he is familiarly known, is
Speaking to tens of thousands pilgrims Wednesday, Pope Francis said that no one is a bishop, priest, or deacon because he is “smarter, more talented or better than others,” but only by virtue of a gift of love bestowed by
On Wednesday, a UN committee in Geneva asked State Department representatives what the federal government was doing to prosecute psychologists who help patients change their same-sex attractions. The questioning came during the U.S. report to the UN Committee on Torture
There is a foolproof recipe for making it rich in modern pseudo-scholarship. The recipe is: 1. Take one dusty old text in a language few people read. 2. Stirring frequently, spin the text until it makes some sensational claim “disproving”
This morning after his usual prayer of the Angelus Pope Francis commemorated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and made special mention of the role of his predecessor, Saint John Paul II. On November 9, 1989
