Vatican City
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Christian community a place of welcome, solidarity, pope says
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published June 26, 2019To be part of a Christian community is to belong to a group of believers who shun selfishness and give witness to God’s love by loving and caring for one another, Pope Francis said at his June 26 general audience.
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Pope advances sainthood causes for first African American diocesan priest
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published June 12, 2019Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of Father Augustus Tolton, who was the first African American diocesan priest in the United States.
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Catholic minorities can still change the world, pope says
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published May 16, 2019Visiting the small Catholic communities in Bulgaria and North Macedonia offered an opportunity to encourage the faithful to remember God’s miracle of feeding a multitude with just a few loaves and fishes, Pope Francis said.
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Papal document addresses challenges of evangelizing in the digital age
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published April 3, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—While digital communications and social media can be used as a tool of evangelization and a place of dialogue with others, they also can be lonely environments where young people fall prey to humanity’s worst vices, Pope Francis wrote. In his new apostolic exhortation to young people, “Christus Vivit” (“Christ Lives”), the pope […] Full Story
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‘Spiritual combat’ must be part of fight against sex abuse, pope says
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Published April 1, 2019ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ROME (CNS) — To fight clerical sexual abuse, the Catholic Church must have clear laws and procedures, but it also must engage in “spiritual combat,” because it is obvious the devil is at work, Pope Francis said. After the Vatican summit on abuse in February, the pope said, he read […] Full Story
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Some traditional formalities do not ring true with Pope Francis
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Published March 28, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has made it more than obvious that he does not like people kissing his ring. The viral video of him yanking his right hand away from a string of about 17 people coming up to him one-by-one during a trip to Loreto, Italy, March 25, caught many people by […] Full Story
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Worn marble steps of Holy Stairs to be uncovered for public to climb
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published March 21, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—For the first time in 300 years, the marble steps of the Holy Stairs will be free from the thick wooden panels installed in 1723 to protect the stairs and left uncovered for the public. For at least 40 days, people will be able to touch and climb the bare stones that, according […] Full Story
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Faith and flowers: Special rules keep God’s house simply beautiful
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published March 14, 2019VATICAN CITY—Of the many traditions and penitential practices observed during the season of Lent, one of the more visible is the stark change in church decor and a complete absence of flowers. The small floral arrangement usually seen on the corner of the altar of the chapel in the papal residence for morning Mass has […] Full Story
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After the Vatican’s summit on abuse, the stakes are clear
By GREG ERLANDSON, Catholic News Service
Published February 25, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The long-awaited “Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church,” nicknamed the abuse summit, was an extraordinary and historic gathering that surpassed many expectations while perhaps disappointing others. Historic in that it brought together the heads of 114 bishops’ conferences from the entire world, as well as the leaders of religious congregations, […] Full Story
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Cardinal: Can the church step up, lead way in protecting children?
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Published February 22, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Only together, by humbly sharing their experiences, encouragement and corrective advice, can the bishops and leaders in the Catholic Church work to prevent the abuse of minors and help bring healing to survivors, said the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. Church leaders also must cooperate fully with local […] Full Story
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Religious superiors admit denial, slowness to act against abuse
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published February 22, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Twisted ideas of power and authority in the Catholic Church have contributed to the clerical sexual abuse crisis, leaders of religious orders said, but sometimes the positive “sense of family” in their own communities also made them slow to act. “Pope Francis rightly attacks the culture of clericalism which has hindered our fight […] Full Story | En Español
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Streaming video, resources for the Vatican Summit on the Protection of Minors in the Church
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service
Published February 21, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Catholics need to know that their leaders “mean business” when it comes to protecting minors from abuse, the Vatican’s top abuse investigator told representatives of the world’s bishops and religious orders. “They should come to know us as friends of their safety and that of their children and youth. We will […] Full Story
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McCarrick removed from the priesthood after being found guilty of abuse
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published February 16, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)–Pope Francis has confirmed the removal from the priesthood of Theodore E. McCarrick, the 88-year-old former cardinal and archbishop of Washington. The Vatican announced the decision Feb. 16, saying he was found guilty of “solicitation in the sacrament of confession and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the […] Full Story
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Pope: Respect, dialogue key for peace between Christians, Muslims
By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service
Published February 6, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, while brief, was a new page in relations between Christians and Muslims at a time when conflict and violence threaten the goal of lasting peace. Recalling his Feb. 3-5 visit to Abu Dhabi, the pope said during his weekly general […] Full Story
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Vatican releases guidelines to help church fight human trafficking
By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Published January 17, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The Vatican has created a set of pastoral guidelines to inspire and improve the church’s work in addressing the crime of human trafficking and the care of its victims worldwide. The Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development released its “Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking” Jan. 17 at […] Full Story
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Pope’s World Youth Day trip to include visits with sick, imprisoned
By JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES, Catholic News Service
Published January 10, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When Pope Francis visits Panama for World Youth Day later in January, he will meet with young people not able to attend the festivities: some in jail and with some living with HIV. He also will dedicate the altar of Panama’s newly renovated 400-year-old cathedral, meet with bishops from Central America and have […] Full Story | En Español
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Robots and AI: Papal academy decodes newest pro-life challenges
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Published January 4, 2019VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even though today’s modern tools and technologies are hardly human, the Pontifical Academy for Life is zeroing in on the world of robots and machines powered by artificial intelligence. While the academy’s focus is on the protection of human life and dignity, the rapidly shifting and radical capabilities of robotics are […] Full Story
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Pope to U.S. bishops: Abuse crisis requires conversion, humility
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Published January 3, 2019VATICAN CITY—The clerical abuse crisis and the “crisis of credibility” it created for the U.S. bishops have led to serious divisions within the U.S. church and to a temptation to look for administrative solutions to problems that go much deeper, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops. Without a clear and decisive focus on spiritual conversion […] Full Story
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Vatican publication looks at ways to raise profile of women in the church
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Published January 3, 2019VATICAN CITY—Too often in the Catholic Church, “the sacrifices of women are used only to reinforce the power of those who already have it,” wrote the editor of the Vatican newspaper’s monthly section on women in the church. In the “Woman-Church-World” supplement to L’Osservatore Romano published Jan. 2, editor Lucetta Scaraffia wrote, “A revolution is […] Full Story
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‘Everything changes’ with Christ’s birth, pope says
By CINDY WOODEN, Catholic News Service
Published December 22, 2018VATICAN CITY (CNS)—The Annunciation—the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will bear God’s son—was such a tremendous, history-changing event that preaching about it is extremely difficult, Pope Francis said. So, when the Gospel reading for daily Mass Dec. 20 was St. Luke’s version of the Annunciation, the pope basically devoted his homily to reading […] Full Story
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